Martin Jarvis stars in this BBC radio satire set in the competitive world of advertising
Happiness... is a career in advertising. Or is it? Activist turned ad writer Ken Handley isn't so sure. Back in the day, he used to hitch-hike and attend peace protests. Now, he finds himself writing copy for the Conservative Party and extolling the virtues of products he hates - while also coping with a drunken boss, strait-laced colleagues and an overactive mind.
Over three series, we follow his exploits and moral dilemmas as he grapples with the challenges of winning accounts, presenting to clients and dealing with the women in his life. A pitch for a motorway services chain drives him round the bend, a seven-foot squirrel nearly sends him nuts, and he faces his own emergency when he's coerced into a Samaritans campaign. On the domestic front, Ken's got a divorce and a new home to contend with - but things start looking up when leggy model April comes on the scene...
Written by Guy Jenkin (Drop the Dead Donkey) and Jon Canter (Posh Nosh), this sardonic advertising sitcom stars Martin Jarvis as Ken, with a cast including Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, Joss Ackland and Miriam Margolyes.
Production credits
Script and commercial concepts by Guy Jenkin
Commercials by Jon Canter
Produced by Geoffrey Perkins (Series 1) and Pete Atkin (Series 2 & 3)
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 January-22 February 1982 (Series 1), 7 February-13 March 1984 (Series 2), 7 October-11 November 1986 (Series 3)
Cast
Ken Handley - Martin Jarvis
Sarah - Sheila Steafel
Sandy - Christopher Godwin
Freddie - Lockwood West
Hitchhiker - Vincent Brimble
Portley - Richard Bebb
Runcie - Simon Jones
June - Wendy Richard
Johnnie - Patrick Barr
Murray - Gary Cady
The General - Bill Fraser
Mr Sandell - John Blythe
Barman - Geoffrey McGivern
Virgil - Marc Smith
Mr Sandell:- John Blythe
Cindy- Heather Bell
Katie- Miranda Forbes
Director- David Gooderson
Ravi - Ahmed Khalil
Deborah - Rosalind Ayres
Ambrose - Paul Jesson
Janet/Receptionist/Researcher - Stacey Tendeter
Mr Cheater/Mr McCafferty - James Griffiths
Angus - Michael Jenner
Derek - David Peart
Stella - Imelda Staunton
Stella's Heavy - Jim Carter
Subjects - David Peart & Michael Jenner
Leo Gale - Glyn Owen
Christina - Jo Manning Wilson
Receptionist - Maggie McCarthy
George - Peter Tuddenham
Corners - Don Henderson
Benny - Karl Howman
Lesley - Pauline Siddle
Andy - Chris Emmett
Film director - Scott Cherry
Tone - Jeremy Clyde
Doregan - Lesley Manville
Elvira - Moir Leslie
Kip - Joseph Marcell
April - Shelley Thompson
Hedley - Robert Longden
Artiste - David Learner
Larry Childs - William Hootkins
Loretta-Jane Duff - Toni Coyne
Dawn/Masseuse - Sally Watts
Sall
Jon Canter (Author) Jon Canter grew up in Golders Green. He studied law at Cambridge, where he was President of Footlights, before becoming a TV and radio scriptwriter. Among the comedians and comic actors he's worked with are Rowan Atkinson, Dawn French, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, Lenny Henry, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, Richard Wilson and Arabella Weir. He also writes comment pieces for the Guardian. His first novel, Seeds of Greatness, was published in 2006 and chosen to be a Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. His second novel, A Short Gentleman, was published in 2008 and dramatised on Radio 4 in 2012, with Hugh Bonneville playing the central character, Robert Purcell QC. His third novel, Worth, came out in 2011.
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