Laurence 'Lol' Mason's spin-off homage to Dick Barton, following the adventures of the unretirable special agent and his doctor son.

A thrilling saga of criminal masterminds, espionage and adventure, Edward J. Mason's Dick Barton: Special Agent was a huge hit on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951. Together with his mates Jock Anderson and Snowy White, ex-Commando Dick faced dastardly villains and deadly peril—but always triumphed ('With one bound, Dick was free!') Half a century later, Edward J's son Lol paid affectionate tribute to the much-loved radio hero with this sparkling pastiche, featuring the joint escapades of father-and-son duo Dick and Richard Barton.

Recuperating after an operation, the elderly crimefighter comes to stay with his GP son and daughter-in-law Sally in their sleepy rural village. Peace and quiet is what the doctor orders, so Dick settles down to get some rest and write his memoirs. But soon, mysterious parallels emerge between past and present, as Dick's old adventures start to echo events in Appledon....

Robert Bathurst stars as Richard Barton, with Sally Phillips and Matilda Ziegler as Sally, Moray Watson as Dick Barton, Julian Dutton as his younger self and Iain Cuthbertson as Jock.

Production credits:

Written by Lol Mason

Produced by Jo Clegg

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 October 1997 (Pilot), 17 April-15 May 1998 (Series 1)

Cast:

Richard Barton—Robert Bathurst

Old Dick/Old Leslie—Moray Watson

Jock—Iain Cuthbertson

Young Dick/Young Leslie—Julian Dutton

Sally Barton—Sally Phillips/Matilda Ziegler

Mrs Cadwalladder—Ann Beach/Doreen Mantle

Fassbinder—Kim Wall

Colin Meadows—Wayne Forester/Julian Dutton

Kenwood-Gore/Gordini—David Daker

Dr Willoughby—Joss Ackland

Marge—Carolyn Jones

Dr Adebile—Adjoa Andoh

With Roger Blake, Tim Whitnall and Fiona Allen