Victor Canning's Mr Finchley

Two BBC Radio 4 adaptations of Victor Canning’s comic novels about the exploits of a shy solicitor’s clerk, starring Richard Griffiths Edgar Finchley is middle-aged, unassuming and not in the habit of taking holidays – but in these two delightful dramatisations, he unexpectedly discovers the delights of travel as he crosses the Channel to the Continent and explores the English countryside. Mr Finchley Goes to Paris finds our hero on his way to France to track down a rather irresponsible client. But before he sets off, he has an important question to put to a certain widow of his acquaintance… On arrival in Paris, he has a contretemps with a haddock, gains a guide, makes a move, visits a fair and gets caught up in a kidnapping – but is it a case of mistaken identity? In Mr Finchley Takes the Road, he falls in love with a canary-coloured caravan and a rather stubborn horse, and heads off for a series of adventures touring 1930s Kent. Along the way, he meets an unlikely teller of salty tales, is captured by two gamekeepers and accused of poaching, visits an old haunt and goes on a crusade. But someone is following hot on his trail… Dramatised by father-and-son team Eric Merriman (Beyond Our Ken) and Andy Merriman, these whimsical stories are narrated by James Villiers and star Richard Griffiths as Mr Finchley. Written by Victor Canning Adapted by Andy and Eric Merriman Produced by Gareth Edwards Starring Richard Griffiths as Edgar Finchley Narrated by James Villiers Mr Finchley Goes to Paris Mrs Crantell – Anna Cropper Mr Sprake – James Grout Lawrence Hume – Piers Gibbon Mrs Patten – Jill Graham David White – James Taylor Mavis – Teresa Gallagher Frenchman – Barry Gordon Marie Peters – Serena Evans Robert Gillespie – James Cohen Madame Mignard – Jacqueline Tong Waiter – Keith Anderson Mr Hammerton – Nicky Henson Michel – Jeffrey Holland Jerome Giraud – Simon Roberts Gaston/Jacques – David Howarth Baptiste Mignard – Albert Welling Mr Barker – John Bird Esmond Lockwood – Edward de Souza Perkins – Richard Ridings Lanky Harris – Alex Arkell Mr Finchley Takes the Road Mrs Finchley – Dinah Sheridan Mr Rivers– Ron Pember Turk – Peter Vaughan Mr Sprake – James Grout Mr Harricot– Alan Thompson Colonel Greatorex – Ronald Fraser Marshall – Joe Melia Garge – Chris Emmett Ernie – Jon Glover Young woman – Susie Brann Mr Blain – John Bird Captain – Clive Swift Mrs Maberley – Auriol Swift Duffy – Richard Ridings Mr Greevey – Albert Welling Robert Finchley – Robert Gill Mr Harbottle – Piers Gibbon Miss Slater– Kate Binchy Sir Simon Penickle – Alan Thompson Mechanic – David Howarth Jenks – Ian Bartholomew Joe Turnbull – Bill Wallis James Grimes – Geoffrey McGivern Clarence Armitage – Sebastian Brennan Mrs Armitage – Jacqueline Tong