BBC Charles Paris Mysteries including New Releases

This post details all of the Charles Paris Mystery BBC radio plays, listed in order of first airing on radio.

Based on the comedy detective novels by Simon Brett. The first adaptation for BBC Radio 4 starred Francis Matthews. The same book was then adapted again, this time with Bill Nighy starring as the louche actor-turned-amateur detective, Charles Paris.

Details of how to download and/or listen to these brilliant radio 4 mystery dramas online included below.

For more top Britsh comedy crime dramas including TV and films see my posts listed below.

June 2023 Update: A new Bill Nighy BBC R4 adaptation of the first Charles Paris radio play is due out later this month, see below for details!

BBC Charles Paris Mysteries in Order

The first of the BBC Charles Paris full-cast dramatisations was based on the novel, So Much Blood. It aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1985. Starring Francis Matthews as Charles Paris and dramatised by the author Simon Brett.

In 1999, a new one hour adaptation of the same book aired as part of BBC radio 4’s Saturday Plays. This time starring Bill Nighy as Charles Paris and dramatised by Bert Coules.

The next ACPM radio play in the series, A Series of Murders aired in 2004. It was also a one hour episode and starred Bill Nighy. But this time was dramatised by Jeremy Front.

From then on, Jeremy Front continues to adapt Simon Brett’s novels but in 4 half hour episodes for each book. And with his brilliant comedy writing talents I think Front draws out more of the sardonic comedy element of the books. Which compliments the way Bill Nighy plays Charles Paris as a cool actor turned amateur detective. And makes this one of the best BBC comedy detective drama series!

You maybe able to find these audio dramas on Youtube from time to time. However if you’re looking for versions of these funny mystery comedies to download free, check out the Amazon Audible links below for free download versions of these top audio dramas!

Also note the BBC Charles Paris Mysteries order detailed below, is a different order compared to the original Simon Brett novels. I’ll be writing a post listing the books in order of release, soon.

1. So Much Blood

ACPM First Aired on BBC Radio 4: August 1985 | 6 half-hour episodes | Starring Francis Matthews as Charles Paris, Hugh Laurie as Brian Cassells, Jennifer Hilary as Frances and dramatised by Simon Brett.

The Saturday Play: So Much Blood First Aired on BBC Radio 4: August 1999 | One hour episode | Starring Bill Nighy as Charles Paris. Gregg Proops makes a guest appearance. Dramatised by Bert Coules.

Plot: Charles Paris takes his one-man show to the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, filling a vacant spot at a student venue which is a hotbed of behind-the-scenes drama… Until a stage dagger turns murderously into a real one.

2023 Update: A new adaptation of this Charles Paris mystery starring Bill Nighy will air on BBC Radio 4 in June 2023, see below for details.

2. A Series of Murders

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: 2004.

Plot: Charles Paris is thrilled – he’s landed a nice juicy part playing Sergeant Collins in the TV detective series, ‘The Stanislaus Braid Mysteries’, and his estranged wife Frances seems to be on the brink of taking him back. But filming turns out to be a tortuous process, with pompous star Russell Bentley demanding numerous retakes and irascible author Winifred Railton constantly interrupting.

To cap it all, nubile actress Lisa Stokes is crushed to death on set – and Charles finds her body. It seems like a straightforward accident, but Charles can’t shake the suspicion that she was murdered. Can he find the killer, stay away from the booze and the women, and win back his wife? Starring Bill Nighy and Suzanne Burden. Dramatised by Jeremy Front. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 2 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

3. Sicken and So Die

ACPM First Aired on BBC Radio 4: August 2006 | Amazon Audible audiobook release date: 1 September 2022.

Plot: Things are going suspiciously well for Charles Paris. He has moved back in with his ex-wife and landed a proper part in a proper production: Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night… But when two members of the theatre company suddenly fall ill, Charles finds himself in trouble again – both on and off stage.

For more details of this radio play: Sicken and So Die – New Charles Paris Drama (2022) Free Mystery Audiobook Download.

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 3 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

4. Murder Unprompted

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: October 2007.

Plot: Bill Nighy stars as Charles Paris in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Simon Brett’s novel. Charles Paris is understudying in a West End production, whose star Michael Banks seems unable to master the script. Has Charles time to solve a murder, win Frances’ heart and make it on stage by the time the curtain goes up?

Also featuring: Suzanne Burden, Danny Webb, Jon Glover, Jemima Rooper, Liza Sadovy, Rachel Bavidge, Nitin Gonatra, Tilly Gaunt, Thomas Arnold, Jot Davies, Leslie Philips, Simon Treves, Jasmin Callan and Miranda Colchester. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 4 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

5. The Dead Side of the Mic

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: December 2008.

Plot: Actor and reluctant sleuth Charles Paris is facing chaos on the domestic front. He’s lodging with his ex-wife Frances, and now their pregnant daughter has moved in as well. It’s all a bit much… So he is over the moon when he lands a job on the BBC Radio Rep – but the ink is barely dry on his contract when a murder takes place in Broadcasting House. A young female studio manager is found dead in an editing suite, and Charles steps in to investigate.

With a distinguished cast including Bill Nighy as Charles Paris, Suzanne Burden as Frances, and featuring Charlotte Green as herself, this four-part drama, dramatised by Jeremy Front, is sheer listening pleasure. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 5 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

6. Cast in Order of Disappearance

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: January 2010.

Plot: Bill Nighy stars as Charles Paris with Martine McCutcheon as Jodie Ricks in this BBC Radio 4 comedy detective drama. Charles finds himself uncharacteristically employed in a film, having landed the part of Szabec, a middle management vampire in ‘The Wreathing’.

His co-star is swimwear model turned actress Jodie Ricks and before long, Jodie is using Charles as a confidant. Poor Jodie is in terrible trouble – not only is she being blackmailed over some compromising photos, but she is also carrying the baby of the film’s producer, Elliot Roth, who now wants nothing to do with her. Then things take an even nastier turn when it appears that someone is trying to kill Jodie. Always keen to help a damsel in distress, Charles sets about trying to solve the mystery… [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 6 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

7. Murder in the Title

ACPM First Aired on BBC Radio 4: November 2010.

Plot: Charles Paris is his own worst enemy, a louche lush who can resist anything except temptation – especially in the form of women and alcohol. He’s been out of work so long now he feels he may never get a job and he’s driving Frances, his semi-ex-wife, mad. So when he’s offered a small role in a play, she nearly pushes him out of the door.

But it seems that ‘The Message is Murder’ is such a terrible production that someone wants to kill off the cast. First there is a series of nasty accidents, then someone attempts to stab Charles. Can he find the murderer before they strike again? [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 7 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

8. An Amateur Corpse

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: December 2012.

Plot: Bill Nighy stars as Charles Paris in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast adaptation of Simon Brett’s comic crime novel An Amateur Corpse. Charles is out of work again, and to make matters worse his mother has come to stay and he’s no way of escaping her. So when he’s offered some voiceover work by old friend, Hugo, he’s delighted to get out of the house.

But Hugo’s marriage is in trouble: his much younger wife, Ellie, spends all her time at her Amateur Dramatic Group, and Hugo is drinking too much. When Ellie is found drowned in their swimming pool, it seems Hugo is guilty of murder. It’s up to Charles to prove his friend’s innocence… Bill Nighy, Suzanne Burden, and Geraldine McEwan are among the star cast in this entertaining mystery, dramatised by Jeremy Front. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 8 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

9. A Reconstructed Corpse

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: March 2013.

Plot: Bill Nighy returns as Charles Paris: unsuccessful actor, bad husband, and dipsomaniac. Desperately in need of work, having been kicked out of his marital home, Charles jumps at playing a missing property developer in a crime-reconstruction program.

But the missing person case soon turns to murder when severed body parts begin to appear. Television ratings soar as the public tune in to discover every gory detail of the case.

The raging egos and jealous maneuverings of the producers, presenters, and the police provide a long list of suspects for Charles as he pieces together a macabre jigsaw puzzle of murder. Bill Nighy, Suzanne Burden, and Jon Glover are among the star cast in this enjoyable mystery, dramatised by Jeremy Front. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 9 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

10. Corporate Bodies

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: June 2014.

Plot: BBC Radio 4 full-cast adaptation of Simon Brett’s comic murder mystery, starring Bill Nighy as the irrepressible Charles Paris. Charles Paris (unsuccessful actor, bad husband, dipsomaniac) is currently appearing as a fork lift operator in a corporate video. It’s not prime-time television or a major film, but it seems like easy money – until the fork lift is used to commit a murder. When Charles himself comes under suspicion, he decides to find out for himself who the murderer is.

Meanwhile, as ever with Charles, life on the domestic front is not plain sailing. After inflicting damage upon his ex-wife’s house, he finds himself offering her a berth on the houseboat he’s currently sitting for a friend. However, life on the water proves as tricky as life at work… Suzanne Burden, Tim McInnery, and Jon Glover are also among the cast in this dramatisation by Jeremy Front. Based on the novel by Simon Brett. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 10 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

11. A Decent Interval

ACPM First Aired on BBC Radio 4: March 2016.

Plot: A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Simon Brett’s entertaining crime novel, starring Bill Nighy. Charles Paris has been ‘resting’ for quite a while, so he’s relieved when he is cast as Ghost of Hamlet’s Father and First Gravedigger in a touring production of Hamlet. But rehearsals are a little tense – the lead roles of Hamlet and Ophelia are played by a reality TV contestant and TV talent show winner respectively, and their opinions on celebrity and the theatre differ somewhat from those of the more experienced members of the cast.

The show is barely on the road before tragedy strikes – just before opening night, part of the set collapses, seriously injuring one of the actors. Then another member of the cast is found dead. It’s up to Charles Paris to turn detective and investigate the mystery, but with almost everyone having a motive for murder, will he ever track down the real killer? [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 11 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

12. The Cinderella Killer

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: December 2016.

Plot: Charles Paris returns in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Simon Brett’s humorous theatrical mystery, starring Bill Nighy. A job in pantomime seems the perfect way to spend the Christmas season for Charles, but the cast of Cinderella are a motley crew from reality TV and Charles finds himself having to explain the traditions of panto to their baffled American star whose career is on a downward trajectory. When the star is shot dead, and Charles finds the body, he finds himself under suspicion.

As the slapstick makes way for a murder investigation, he decides to clear his name by doing some sleuthing of his own. With a host of suspects and the body count rising, the line ‘they’re behind you’ soon begins to take on a very sinister meaning indeed… Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Skylight, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) stars as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as his wife Frances, in this funny and fast-paced dramatisation by Jeremy Front. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 12 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

13. Dead Room Farce

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: February 2018.

Plot: Bill Nighy returns as the loveably louche actor-cum-amateur detective Charles Paris. Charles Paris is in Oxford, appearing in a re-imagining of Hamlet by a high-concept drama company. No fan of immersive theatre, he’s unimpressed with the director’s vision and less than thrilled to be rehearsing alongside puppeteers and mime artists.

But he soon finds himself back on familiar territory when the actress playing Ophelia goes missing, only to turn up dead. Did she take her own life, or was there foul play? As he amasses a list of suspects who might have wished her harm, Charles takes on the mantle of detective once more to decide if this is to be or not to be a murder case… [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 13 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

14. Star Trap

ACPM First Aired on BBC Radio 4: March 2019.

Plot: When Charles Paris’ agent rings with the news that he has a part for him in a new musical, Charles is delighted – and somewhat amazed, as he can neither sing nor dance. But Maurice has an ulterior motive: as one of the show’s backers, he wants Charles to play detective and investigate a series of accidents that have dogged the production.

The pianist has been shot in the hand, and another cast member fell downstairs – or was he pushed? Anxious about their investment and their star, Chris Watt, the ‘angels’ are keen to ensure that nothing else goes wrong. Joining the company, Charles discovers that Chris, although amazingly talented, is a prima donna who has made enemies of almost everyone. When the accidents resume, it begins to look as if anyone who disagrees with him is being targeted. But would the star really sabotage his own show? Charles must find out – before things turn murderous…. [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 14 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

15. A Doubtful Death

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: May 2020.

Plot: Charles’ career is on the up. He’s starring in a revival of a popular (though hackneyed) 70s farce – and while his fellow actors aren’t exactly who you’d want to find yourself in bed with, he’s happy to be in work. But while there may be comedy on stage, offstage it’s rapidly turning into a whodunnit. First the director drops dead, then another premature death follows soon after when an audio producer doing a promo for the show dies in suspicious circumstances.

The cast are hiding some shady secrets, and have plenty of skeletons in their cupboards which they don’t want rattled, but would anyone go as far as murder to protect themselves? Charles is determined to find out, and turns detective in an attempt to find out if foul play is afoot… [Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 15 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

16. A Deadly Habit

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: September 2021.

Plot: 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….[Source: Amazon]

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 16 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

17. So Much Blood (2023)

First Aired on BBC Radio 4: June 2023.

Plot: August in Edinburgh, and thousands of performers of all stripes have flocked to the Fringe Festival. Among them is Charles Paris filling in at the last minute after a student actress breaks a leg and has to drop out. Showcasing an earnest one-man show in a sea of stand-up comics is a bit of a gamble, but at least he’s acting, and with a Charles Paris production, what could possibly go wrong? [Source: Amazon]

For more details: So Much Blood: A New Charles Paris Mystery (2023).

*BBC Charles Paris Mystery 17 available to download for free from UK Amazon and US Amazon with Audible. Also on Apple Audiobooks.

If you are looking for more top BBC Radio crime dramas: Miss Marple BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations Listed in Order.

For Agatha Christie Fans!

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Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? on BritBox (2022).
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4 Top Agatha Christie Board Games.
New Book – The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie.
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries – Audiobook Free on Audible.

If you enjoy cozy British mysteries, you might be interested in The Marlow Murder Club Books in Order & New TV series (March 2024). And 10 New British Cosy Mystery TV Dramas for 2024.

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