Classic crime stories featuring the affable British bobby, plus bonus radio documentary On the Beat with PC 49

Created specifically for radio, The Adventures of PC 49 was a pioneering police drama, offering a new kind of investigative hero: the humble bobby on the beat. One of the most popular serials in the history of BBC Radio, it ran between 1947 and 1953, following the cases of Archibald Berkeley-Willoughby and his girlfriend (later wife) Joan Carr. The light-hearted precursor to Dixon of Dock Green, it struck a winning balance between comedy and crime-solving, and spawned several spin-offs including books, an Eagle comic strip and two Hammer films.

In The Case of the Lone Wolf, the brave bobby is on the trail of a daring crook on a crime spree, while in The Case of the Haunting Refrain, Joan’s neighbour, a composer, is found dead – was it an accident, or murder? Two rare episodes, The Case of the Shivering Spiv and The Case of the Lovely Liar, survive in slightly shortened form, with their storylines and endings intact, and see Archie and Joan dealing with a frightened black marketeer and a murdered actress. The Case of the Black Diamonds finds the plucky PC foiling an elaborate jewel heist which is very much a family affair.

In The Case of the Perfect Fiddle, ‘Fortynine’ decides to learn the violin, only to be inadvertently entangled in a notorious theft, and in The Case of the Yellow Streak, he finds himself pitting his wits against the underworld after a mob boss is released from prison. A society wife receives a surprise visitor in The Case of the Uninvited Guest, and in The Case of the Swell Guy – the final adventure in the long-running series – PC 49 plays cops and robbers with a lost child and a gang of thieves...

Brian Reece stars as PC 49, with Joy Shelton as Joan, Leslie Perrins as Chief Inspector Wilson and Eric Phillips as Detective-Sergeant Wright.

Also included is a bonus radio documentary On the Beat with PC 49, in which cultural historian Professor Jeffrey Richards recalls the popular street bobby, and interviews Susan Stranks about her father Alan’s sleuthing creation.

NB: Due to the age of these recordings, the sound quality may vary.

Written by Alan Stranks
Produced by Vernon Harris

With thanks to Charles Norton

Episode List
The Case of the Lone Wolf
The Case of the Haunting Refrain
The Case of the Shivering Spiv
The Case of the Lovely Liar
The Case of the Black Diamonds
The Case of the Perfect Fiddle
The Case of the Yellow Streak
The Case of the Uninvited Guest
The Case of the Swell Guy

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