A double serving of thrilling vintage spy drama featuring the tenacious Captain Jim Nicholson

A treat from the archive: two classic dramas from the writer of Z-Cars, Robert Barr, set during the height of the Cold War.

The Dark Island is a thrilling story of espionage set among the remote, mist-veiled islands of the Outer Hebrides. Two Intelligence Officers discover an escape route for defectors from Britain. The route, ending behind the Iron Curtain, involves the use of Russian trawlers plying outside territorial waters. Edward de Souza (Coronation Street, Doctor Who) stars as Jim Nicholson in this full-cast drama packed with unexpected twists and turns that will keep you gripped until the very end.

In Return to the Islands, the indefatigable Captain Jim Nicholson heads back to the atmospheric islands of the north when a body is discovered near a secret training base. Things take a sinister turn when an elite trainee is taken hostage. An enemy agent is captured and interrogated but can Nicholson and his team solve the mystery in time? When tragedy strikes, the team are pushed to their limit and embark on a deadly endgame…

Former BBC war correspondent Robert Barr is best remembered writing for BBC TV’s police dramas Z-Cars and Softly Softly. He also wrote the long-running radio series Detective. The Dark Island was originally made for TV in 1962 as well as being published as a novel in 1972. This is a gem from the archive, perfect for fans of espionage thrillers and vintage drama performed by a great cast.

Please note: due to the age of these vintage recordings, the sound quality may vary.

Cast and credits

The Dark Island
Written by Robert Barr
Produced by Peter Titheridge
Jim Nicholson - Edward De Souza
Bill Grant - Geoffrey Frederick
Ian McLeod - Bryden Murdoch
Lieutenant Ritchie - Roy Spencer
Major Williams - Peter Hawkins
Brigadier - Michael Kilgarriff
Mary Somers - Rosemary Miller
Colonel Jamieson/Hotel Manager - Alaric Cotter
Alec Thompson - John Graham
Major Williams - Peter Hawkins
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19th September - 24th October 1969

Return to the Islands
Written by Robert Barr
Produced by Peter Titheridge
Jim Nicholson - Edward de Souza
Ian McLeod - Bryden Murdoch
Major Miller - John Graham
Paul O'Donnell - Geoffrey Frederick
Sergeant Finney - Clive Merrison
Alan Shaw/Landlord - Andrew Neil
Katy Evans - Gretta Gouriet
Alec Rogers - Ian Dewar
Doctor - Gerald Cross
Prisoner - David Gooderson
Miss Dalgliesh - Eva Stuart
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10th October - 14th November 1971

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