BBC4 Extra (formally known as BBC Radio 7 – although I can’t hear much difference on listening to it since the name change) is currently re running The Complete Smiley. Wonderful dramatisations from the John le Carre novels. I listened to A Murder of Quality. It is without doubt one of the finest adaptations for radio. Headed by Simon Russell Beale as the eponymous George Smiley…
in a beautifully judged understated and intimate performance – one that equals the original Alec Guinness TV rendition. Beale leads a stellar ensemble of outstanding actors in this dense narrative that keeps you on your mettle from beginning to end. It is peppered with the distinctive sound of 1950/60s telephone rings…
along with claustrophobic rain swept days to perfectly transport you into the heart of the plot. It is sublime listening for bedtime, especially if, like me, you wake up in the early hours. It is a pleasure to pay my license fee for this kind of quality. But if you only possess a radio and no TV, there is no need to pay. How good it that? Until you sample the quality (or rather lack of it) of overseas broadcasting you will have no idea of just how fine the BBC is. Long may it remain a truly public service. To hear the play and other in the series click here.