Vogel & Fraser: Four BBC Radio 4 full-cast crime dramas

Four full-cast dramas featuring the London police duo

Sergeant Jimmy Vogel is an old-school, down-to-earth copper. Dedicated and tenacious, he's happy to work overtime to get results (to the dismay of his long-suffering wife, Mo). But after repeatedly missing out on promotion, he finds himself working under Superintendent Fraser, whose methods are alien to him. For Jimmy, policing's about understanding human nature, while his boss relies more on facts and figures. But to catch criminals, it takes both science and instinct, as the duo discover in these four stories.

Body on the Heath - A young man is found on Putney Heath, his throat cut. Who is he, and how did he come to die such a grisly death? Vogel's having trouble finding any satisfactory answers...

An Ordinary Bloke - When a woman is killed by faulty electrical wiring, it looks like murder. Her husband is the obvious suspect, but he's disappeared - and in tracking him down, Vogel and Fraser uncover unpleasant truths and secrets dating back thirty years.

Sins of the Father - Jimmy Vogel is feeling his age. He's finally managed to make Inspector, but at the expense of his home life; he's feeling out of step with the youngsters at the station; and Superintendent Fraser still criticises his lack of tact. And his current investigation isn't making life any easier...

Background - The old firm of Vogel and Fraser is in danger of breaking up. Fraser's stuck behind a desk and rarely gets out on the job, and Vogel's thinking of packing it in altogether. But neither of them can resist a challenge, and when a child is kidnapped they both get back on the case.

Created by veteran scriptwriter Bill Lyons, these thrilling detective dramas star Douglas Livingstone as Vogel and Nigel Hawthorne as Fraser, with Diana Bishop as Mo.


Cast and credits
Starring Douglas Livingstone as Vogel and Nigel Hawthorne as Fraser, with Diana Bishop as Mo
Produced and directed by Jane Morgan

Body on the Heath
Sgt Mann - Walter Hall
PC Jackson - Michael Harbour
Pathologist/Mr Simon - Bruce Purchase
Hairdresser/Waiter/Car park attendant - Alan Dudley
Laura Holland - Colette O'Neil
Edward Holland - David Graham
Annie Viccars - Valerie Murray
Eric Hills - Christopher Bidmead
David Simon - Steven Pacey
With Michael Tudor Barnes and Irene Sutcliffe
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 October 1976

An Ordinary Bloke
Jack Davis - Philip Stone
Vi Davis - Joan Matheson
Robert Davis - Gavin Campbell
Det-Sgt Burridge - Michael Goldie
Brian - Walter Hall
PC Jackson - Kenneth Shanley
Margaret Davis - Frances Jeater
Spooner - Christopher Saul
Brenda Parsons - Sheila Reid
Alan Davis - Brian Hewlett
Mrs Walters - Margot Boyd
Sheila Stewart - Nicolette McKenzie
Technical presentation by David Greenwood
Assisted by David Hitchinson, Nick Bamford and Allyson Reed
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3 September 1977

Sins of the Father
Mrs Sutton - Petra Davies
Charles Sutton - Philip Voss
Jo Blackitt - Jenny Twigge
Dave Walker - Brian Carroll
Mayor - Brian Haines
Tony Sutton - Merlin Ward
Eric Roye - Fred Bryant
Gerry Marshall - Dominic Cox
Harris - Jeffrey Segal
Tina - Tina Lyons
Club Leader - David Sinclair
Mrs Marshall - Eva Stuart
Gaffer - John Bott
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 September 1979

Background
Mrs Ornum - Miranda Forbes
Mr Ornum - Michael McStay
Timothy Ornum - Rusty Livingstone
Andy - Leroi Samuels
Dave - Alex Jennings
Insp Peter Gardner - Ronald Baddiley
Rick - Michael Deeks
Chas - Simon Hewitt
Stew - Patrick Field
DC Young - Steve Hodson
Sharon Fraser - Alexandra Mathie
Mrs Fraser - Lillias Walker
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 January 1983

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