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Charles Paris: BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
A Deadly Habit
Actor and sleuth Charles Paris is back in this full-cast BBC radio dramatisation of Simon Brett's novel, starring Bill Nighy
Locked down with his semi-detached wife Frances, Charles has thrown himself into a new career as a handyman, becoming quite the DIY expert. He's developed muscles, stopped smoking and even cut back on the booze.
Then his agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - and in a West End play, no less. The star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically: but Charles has reservations. Grover was cocky enough when they were both young hopefuls; now he's the star of a massive TV fantasy series, and the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire.
So why has Justin signed up for it? He certainly doesn't need the money, unlike Charles. The cast is drearily male, and before long Charles is hitting the Scotch again. When he drunkenly stumbles over the corpse of a fellow actor, Charles panics, leaving the body to be discovered by someone else. But he soon regrets lying to the police, and driven by guilt and self-preservation, he resolves to find the murderer...
This sparkling adaptation by Jeremy Front stars Bill Nighy (Emma, Love Actually) as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice.
Credits
Written by Simon Brett
Adapted by Jeremy Front
Directed by Sally Avens
Cast
Charles Paris........................Bill Nighy
Frances........................Suzanne Burden
Maurice........................Jon Glover
Justin ........................Tony Turner
Lydia ........................Ria Marshall
Kit ........................Joseph Ayre
Brendan ........................Jonathan Kydd
Nina ........................Marilyn Nnadebe
D.S. Dalby ........................Stewart Campbell
Alice/Peaches ........................Elinor Coleman
Kelly/Dervla ........................Jane Slavin
Bethan ........................Christine Kavanagh
Neil ........................Simon Ludders
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-24 September 2021
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Locked down with his semi-detached wife Frances, Charles has thrown himself into a new career as a handyman, becoming quite the DIY expert. He's developed muscles, stopped smoking and even cut back on the booze.
Then his agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - and in a West End play, no less. The star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically: but Charles has reservations. Grover was cocky enough when they were both young hopefuls; now he's the star of a massive TV fantasy series, and the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire.
So why has Justin signed up for it? He certainly doesn't need the money, unlike Charles. The cast is drearily male, and before long Charles is hitting the Scotch again. When he drunkenly stumbles over the corpse of a fellow actor, Charles panics, leaving the body to be discovered by someone else. But he soon regrets lying to the police, and driven by guilt and self-preservation, he resolves to find the murderer...
This sparkling adaptation by Jeremy Front stars Bill Nighy (Emma, Love Actually) as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice.
Credits
Written by Simon Brett
Adapted by Jeremy Front
Directed by Sally Avens
Cast
Charles Paris........................Bill Nighy
Frances........................Suzanne Burden
Maurice........................Jon Glover
Justin ........................Tony Turner
Lydia ........................Ria Marshall
Kit ........................Joseph Ayre
Brendan ........................Jonathan Kydd
Nina ........................Marilyn Nnadebe
D.S. Dalby ........................Stewart Campbell
Alice/Peaches ........................Elinor Coleman
Kelly/Dervla ........................Jane Slavin
Bethan ........................Christine Kavanagh
Neil ........................Simon Ludders
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-24 September 2021
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
2 pages, Audible Audio
Published August 1, 2021
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 14, 2021
This is the latest BBC Radio adaptation of the Simon Brett series featuring the boozing and womanising actor Charles Paris. I have never read the actual novels, but I think I have listened to every Radio 4 drama adaptation because I adore Bill Nighy's sleuthing Charles Paris, no-one does louche and cynical quite like him. As usual, this is structured into 4 parts, each 30 minutes long, with a full cast, easy to listen to, with Paris once again falling into his role as detective. It all begins with Charles spending lockdown with Frances, scandalised with a quote she gets for work she wants done on the house. With no acting work in sight, Charles becomes a handyman, creating the persona of Dave to fit the role he takes to like a duck to water, so good that he is developing muscles, cutting down on the drink and the smoking.
All this comes to an end when Maurice rings him up about a West End play in which he has been offered a part by an old acquaintance, Justin Grover, whom he has never liked. Charles has a small part in the play set in a monastery, he is not keen on the script, but it is work and a regular paycheck. Falling back into bad habits, a drunk Charles falls asleep in the theatre, only to stumble over a dead body, panic and hide, and he finds himself lying to the police. It turns out that the actress, Lydia, had apparently fallen down accidentally on the stairs and died. A guilt ridden Charles investigates, unconvinced that it was an accident and before long there is another death.
With Frances carving out a new career as a writer, Maurice helping to secure a publisher, Charles does what he does best as he hunts for a killer. This is entertaining and great fun, and will be broadcast later this year on BBC Radio 4. Fans of the radio dramatisations are likely to love this, and I have no doubt for many, like me, the draw will be the great Bill Nighy. Many thanks to BBC audio for this radio drama.
All this comes to an end when Maurice rings him up about a West End play in which he has been offered a part by an old acquaintance, Justin Grover, whom he has never liked. Charles has a small part in the play set in a monastery, he is not keen on the script, but it is work and a regular paycheck. Falling back into bad habits, a drunk Charles falls asleep in the theatre, only to stumble over a dead body, panic and hide, and he finds himself lying to the police. It turns out that the actress, Lydia, had apparently fallen down accidentally on the stairs and died. A guilt ridden Charles investigates, unconvinced that it was an accident and before long there is another death.
With Frances carving out a new career as a writer, Maurice helping to secure a publisher, Charles does what he does best as he hunts for a killer. This is entertaining and great fun, and will be broadcast later this year on BBC Radio 4. Fans of the radio dramatisations are likely to love this, and I have no doubt for many, like me, the draw will be the great Bill Nighy. Many thanks to BBC audio for this radio drama.
February 14, 2024
A Deadly Habit is the 20th in Simon Brett’s comic mystery series about the world-weary, booze-soaked and often out of work actor Charles Paris. The trouble is that when he does get a part, a murder seems to turn up out of nowhere in the theatre where he is working. And this time there are two.
This is the dramatisation by Jeremy Front, who has adapted several of these novels so successfully that many people cannot now read a novel about Charles Paris without hearing the lazily languid tones of Bill Nighy, whose voice in these epitomises the jaded middle-aged Charles, where each word drips with bitter irony.
I enjoyed the adaptation as I expected, but probably because the format was a familiar one, the acting good, and timing ditto. It is a professional job, but lacks the sparkle of the early novels. After all, the first Charles Paris novel “Cast, in Order of Disappearance” was way back in 1975, but this latest one was written in 2018. Charles is really holding up very well considering his disreputable life-style; he seems to have stayed at the same age for 40 years …
Often Jeremy Front has had to iron out some of the contemporary references which mean little today, and I noted in one review that the dramatisation is so different from the book that it is more like a new play. However this one could be a straight adaptation. Like the others, this is in 4 parts, each 30 minutes long,
Charles Paris is pleased when his agent tells him he has landed a small part in a new West End play “The Habit of Faith”. (His relationship with his agent Maurice, is a love-hate one we love to follow.) But coming down to Earth, he cannot work out why he would have been cast in a serious play with such a title. To add to the puzzle, he discovers that his good fortune has been orchestrated by someone from his past whom he has never liked very much, the now-famous screen actor Justin Grover. It seems to make no sense at all. Why has the succesful Justin Grover become involved in such a relatively obscure production, and why has he chosen Charles when he could have asked for any number of other actors.
The alternative though is for Charles to carry on with his real-life act as cheeky cockney handyman and decorator for his ex-wife Frances. (Frances, as we know is never very far from the scene, and has reluctantly rescued Charles from more than one meltdown. She is a headmistress, but is now attempting a new career as a writer, and flatly refuses to tell Charles anything about it, though she shares information with his agent and his wife). Shocked at a quote she had had for some work she wanted done on the house, Charles gallantly said that he would do it for less. Frances pays him well, he has a comfortable room, he’s begun to live more healthily and even developed muscles. But the stage beckons, and he is after all An Ac-Tor in his bones.
Right from the beginning there are problems and arguments, and then a body is discovered Of course as one of the last people to have seen the victim alive, Charles Paris is questioned and find himself telling not-the-exact truth to the police. Now he has to discover what really happened for his own good. But things are about to get a lot worse, as he finds out that several of the people involved in the productions have secrets, and scandalous pasts.
It’s a droll, witty tale, but the plot is … not quite as jaded as the actor, but not a fresh bright young talent either. Perhaps it is time for Charles Paris to take retirement.
Read one of the middle books instead. They are quick reads, and the series is at its peak then.
This is the dramatisation by Jeremy Front, who has adapted several of these novels so successfully that many people cannot now read a novel about Charles Paris without hearing the lazily languid tones of Bill Nighy, whose voice in these epitomises the jaded middle-aged Charles, where each word drips with bitter irony.
I enjoyed the adaptation as I expected, but probably because the format was a familiar one, the acting good, and timing ditto. It is a professional job, but lacks the sparkle of the early novels. After all, the first Charles Paris novel “Cast, in Order of Disappearance” was way back in 1975, but this latest one was written in 2018. Charles is really holding up very well considering his disreputable life-style; he seems to have stayed at the same age for 40 years …
Often Jeremy Front has had to iron out some of the contemporary references which mean little today, and I noted in one review that the dramatisation is so different from the book that it is more like a new play. However this one could be a straight adaptation. Like the others, this is in 4 parts, each 30 minutes long,
Charles Paris is pleased when his agent tells him he has landed a small part in a new West End play “The Habit of Faith”. (His relationship with his agent Maurice, is a love-hate one we love to follow.) But coming down to Earth, he cannot work out why he would have been cast in a serious play with such a title. To add to the puzzle, he discovers that his good fortune has been orchestrated by someone from his past whom he has never liked very much, the now-famous screen actor Justin Grover. It seems to make no sense at all. Why has the succesful Justin Grover become involved in such a relatively obscure production, and why has he chosen Charles when he could have asked for any number of other actors.
The alternative though is for Charles to carry on with his real-life act as cheeky cockney handyman and decorator for his ex-wife Frances. (Frances, as we know is never very far from the scene, and has reluctantly rescued Charles from more than one meltdown. She is a headmistress, but is now attempting a new career as a writer, and flatly refuses to tell Charles anything about it, though she shares information with his agent and his wife). Shocked at a quote she had had for some work she wanted done on the house, Charles gallantly said that he would do it for less. Frances pays him well, he has a comfortable room, he’s begun to live more healthily and even developed muscles. But the stage beckons, and he is after all An Ac-Tor in his bones.
Right from the beginning there are problems and arguments, and then a body is discovered Of course as one of the last people to have seen the victim alive, Charles Paris is questioned and find himself telling not-the-exact truth to the police. Now he has to discover what really happened for his own good. But things are about to get a lot worse, as he finds out that several of the people involved in the productions have secrets, and scandalous pasts.
It’s a droll, witty tale, but the plot is … not quite as jaded as the actor, but not a fresh bright young talent either. Perhaps it is time for Charles Paris to take retirement.
Read one of the middle books instead. They are quick reads, and the series is at its peak then.
September 30, 2021
My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Audio - BBC Digital Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of ‘Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit’ by Simon Brett and adapted for radio by Jeremy Front in exchange for an honest review.
It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2021 as a 4-episode radio dramatisation starring Bill Nighy and a full cast. Its running time is 1 hour, 51 minutes.
What an absolute delight this was from start to finish. I adore Simon Brett’s writing though this was my first encounter with his series featuring actor and amateur sleuth, Charles Paris. It is very tongue-in-cheek and Bill Nighy was the perfect choice for Charles Paris.
‘A Deadly Habit’ is Book 20 in the series, published in September 2018. In it Charles’ agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - in a West End play. Score! However, when he learns that the star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically Charles has reservations. When they were both young hopefuls, Grover had been quite a handful and now he’s the star of a massive TV fantasy series. In addition, the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire. Still, Charles says yes.
Naturally being a mystery there is a murder at the theatre and Charles goes into sleuthing mode and resolves to discover the identity of the murderer.
This was so entertaining both in the story itself and Charles’ inner monologue packed full of witty asides. It pokes fun at various subjects including massive TV fantasy series. The production values, including brief incidental music interludes, were excellent.
It certainly inspires me to seek out more of this series of books as well as available radio dramatisations.
Highly recommended.
It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2021 as a 4-episode radio dramatisation starring Bill Nighy and a full cast. Its running time is 1 hour, 51 minutes.
What an absolute delight this was from start to finish. I adore Simon Brett’s writing though this was my first encounter with his series featuring actor and amateur sleuth, Charles Paris. It is very tongue-in-cheek and Bill Nighy was the perfect choice for Charles Paris.
‘A Deadly Habit’ is Book 20 in the series, published in September 2018. In it Charles’ agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - in a West End play. Score! However, when he learns that the star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically Charles has reservations. When they were both young hopefuls, Grover had been quite a handful and now he’s the star of a massive TV fantasy series. In addition, the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire. Still, Charles says yes.
Naturally being a mystery there is a murder at the theatre and Charles goes into sleuthing mode and resolves to discover the identity of the murderer.
This was so entertaining both in the story itself and Charles’ inner monologue packed full of witty asides. It pokes fun at various subjects including massive TV fantasy series. The production values, including brief incidental music interludes, were excellent.
It certainly inspires me to seek out more of this series of books as well as available radio dramatisations.
Highly recommended.
October 5, 2021
I like the Charles Paris books and the radio play adaptations enjoyable comfort food. I do have an issue with Jeremy Front's adaptations though. There's usually too much entertainment industry nose tweaking and Charles is too slapsticky. This one quite enjoyable because the slapstick element is diminished compared to the other plays but the story is pretty thin. There's not a lot to the story before it's all wrapped in the last ten minutes.
September 30, 2021
This radio adaptation is such very easy listening that I got through all 4 episodes whilst shopping for and then cooking, dinner. Bill Nighy plays the louche luvvy, Charles Paris, a character you always feel isn’t very far from his own persona. For those familiar with the set up you will know that where Charles goes, so does trouble and sure enough, dastardly deeds are soon afoot in a new production “Faith” (no it isn’t anything to do with George Michael)!
This was great fun and the central character is much more likeable than the Feathering duo of Carole and Jude, neither of whom I’ve ever really taken to. Definitely the kind of radio drama you set aside time for - thank goodness for BBC Sounds which makes that so much easier!
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This was great fun and the central character is much more likeable than the Feathering duo of Carole and Jude, neither of whom I’ve ever really taken to. Definitely the kind of radio drama you set aside time for - thank goodness for BBC Sounds which makes that so much easier!
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2024
Note: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Charles Paris is out of lockdown, back in rehearsals and soon investigating yet another murder. I’ve never read one of the original books but have loved these Radio 4 adaptations for years (I don’t think I’d gone to uni when the first one aired).
As ever, the murder is less of a draw than the gossipy parody of an actor’s life. It’s all affectionately done but with enough self awareness and cynicism to prevent it becoming a luv-in (Kit, the posh, chiseled, but talentless star of a hit sword and sorcery TV series is impressively close to the bone).
The odd line aside this isn’t the Charles Paris COVID tale the blurb might have you believe, but after the last 18 months it’s nice to know some things haven’t changed – least of all Charles Paris’s diet.
Charles Paris is out of lockdown, back in rehearsals and soon investigating yet another murder. I’ve never read one of the original books but have loved these Radio 4 adaptations for years (I don’t think I’d gone to uni when the first one aired).
As ever, the murder is less of a draw than the gossipy parody of an actor’s life. It’s all affectionately done but with enough self awareness and cynicism to prevent it becoming a luv-in (Kit, the posh, chiseled, but talentless star of a hit sword and sorcery TV series is impressively close to the bone).
The odd line aside this isn’t the Charles Paris COVID tale the blurb might have you believe, but after the last 18 months it’s nice to know some things haven’t changed – least of all Charles Paris’s diet.
July 27, 2023
I love the Charles Paris Mysteries and always try to and listen to them when they're on the radio. Bill Nighy is one of my favourite actors and he's brilliant in this part, alongside Suzanne Burden who plays his his long suffering ex-wife Frances, and Jon Glover as his theatrical agent Maurice, with the Death March ringtone! The mysteries are always fun making me laugh out loud, especially any scenes between Charles and Frances and his long suffering agent Maurice. This was quite a dark mystery related to the #metoo movement, so bringing it up to date when it was released in 2021. Highly recommended if you enjoy dramatised productions.
Thanks so much to Penguin audio and NetGalley for my copy via the NetGalley app.
Thanks so much to Penguin audio and NetGalley for my copy via the NetGalley app.
December 24, 2024
( Format : Audiobook "
"Life, eh! What can you do? "
Another adaptation of the book by Simon Brett by Jeremy Front for BBC radio 4, with a full cast headed by Bill Nighy as the usually out of work, Hard drinking actor, Charles Paris. The murder mystery might be rather than but the whole is, as always, simply delicious with wonderful performances and snatched of musical nostalgia with the Who and referencing the Kinks.The
This time, Charles' agent, Maurice, has actually found him work in the West End but he finds a body when, suffering a bad hangover, he calls down the stairs to his dressing room.
I just love this whole series and, for anyone who enjoys Bill Nighy, it's a must read.
23 December, 2024.
And it is just as much fun.
"Life, eh! What can you do? "
Another adaptation of the book by Simon Brett by Jeremy Front for BBC radio 4, with a full cast headed by Bill Nighy as the usually out of work, Hard drinking actor, Charles Paris. The murder mystery might be rather than but the whole is, as always, simply delicious with wonderful performances and snatched of musical nostalgia with the Who and referencing the Kinks.The
This time, Charles' agent, Maurice, has actually found him work in the West End but he finds a body when, suffering a bad hangover, he calls down the stairs to his dressing room.
I just love this whole series and, for anyone who enjoys Bill Nighy, it's a must read.
23 December, 2024.
And it is just as much fun.
August 26, 2021
I loved this radio show. It was very funny, whilst also being a fairly twisted murder mystery. The narrators were excellent. The little jokes and asides did make me laugh out loud. The main ‘who done it’ plot was quite thin, but it didn’t matter as the story was well delivered.
September 29, 2021
I have taken to listening to an audio book or radio play adaptation whilst working from home and today it's back to the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the Simon Brett Charles Paris novels. They are wonderfully fun and Bill Nighy plays the aging actor, with a penchant for women and drink, so very well.
In this story, Charles is once again out of work and down on his luck. After a spell of a playing the DIY expert with his semi-separated ex-wife, his luck changes when a former colleague recommends him for a role in a West End play.
However, death is just around the corner, and when Charles drunkenly stumbles upon a cast member who has been violently attacked, he once again must do what the police seem incapable of and solve the crime.
I have been listening to these radio plays out of order compared to the original books. However, it doesn't impact the story or the enjoyment at all and there are no spoilers to previous books/adaptations. 4 stars.
In this story, Charles is once again out of work and down on his luck. After a spell of a playing the DIY expert with his semi-separated ex-wife, his luck changes when a former colleague recommends him for a role in a West End play.
However, death is just around the corner, and when Charles drunkenly stumbles upon a cast member who has been violently attacked, he once again must do what the police seem incapable of and solve the crime.
I have been listening to these radio plays out of order compared to the original books. However, it doesn't impact the story or the enjoyment at all and there are no spoilers to previous books/adaptations. 4 stars.
September 25, 2021
Another great BBC radio production. Charles Paris always ends up in trouble, this story is no exception. Charles stumbles across a dead body but having lied to the police has to once again turn detective to extricate himself from a tricky situation. Bill Nighy is excellent as ever and the tale is most entertaining.
November 18, 2021
I don't think that Simon Brett can write a bad book and this was a great dramatisation of one of his mystery in the Charles Paris series.
The actors did an excellent job in bringing the characters to life and the gripping plot kept me listening.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The actors did an excellent job in bringing the characters to life and the gripping plot kept me listening.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
August 12, 2021
I absolutely adore these Radio productions!
October 6, 2022
Although the beginning starts a bit slowly, the ending is packed although predictable. Some of the side stories didn’t make much sense, and I felt some of it could have been edited out.
May 9, 2023
Zoals vaak boeit de plot van de whodunit niet zozeer. De satirische kijk op theater en artiesten blijft evenwel amusant, alsook de ad rem dialogen tussen Charles (Bill Nighy) en zijn agent en vrouw.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews