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Radio Tag


Dr

The cast of BBC Radio 4's 2008 adaptation of Dr. No in the recording studio.

Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance made for radio broadcast. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story. Several of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels have been adapted into radio dramas since the mid-1950s.

Background[]

The first radio dramatisation of a 007 novel was Moonraker, with Bob Holness providing the voice of Bond, and was variously reported to have aired on South African radio in either 1955, 1956, 1957 or 1958.[1] No extant copies are known to exist and the adaptation was possibly not authorized by Fleming or his agents[1] The BBC produced its first radio adaptation of a Fleming novel, You Only Live Twice, in 1990. Michael Jayston starred as James Bond.

In May 2008, Dr. No, the first of a series of new radio plays by the BBC, with Toby Stephens voicing James Bond, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of the centenary celebration of Fleming's birth. Subsequent productions have included; Goldfinger (2010), From Russia, With Love (2012), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (2014), Diamonds Are Forever (2015), Thunderball (2016), Moonraker (2018), Live and Let Die (2019) and The Man with the Golden Gun (2020).[2]

Recurring Cast[]

Title James Bond M Miss Moneypenny Q Felix Leiter Ernst Stavro Blofeld Irma Bunt Tracy Bond
Moonraker (1956) Bob Holness Unknown N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
You Only Live Twice (1990) Michael Jayston David King Ronald Herdman Maxine Audley Emma Gregory
Dr. No (2008) Toby Stephens John Standing Janie Dee Peter Capaldi N/A N/A N/A
Goldfinger (2010) N/A Julian Sands Lloyd Owen
From Russia, with Love (2012) Janie Dee N/A
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (2014) N/A Alfred Molina Joanna Lumley Lisa Dillon
Diamonds Are Forever (2015) Janie Dee N/A Josh Stamberg N/A N/A N/A
Thunderball (2016) N/A Julian Sands Alfred Molina
Moonraker (2018) Janie Dee N/A N/A
Live and Let Die (2019) N/A N/A Josh Stamberg
The Man with the Golden Gun (2020) Janie Dee

Several actors who have starred in Bond films have also voiced characters in the radio plays. Burt Kwouk voiced Ando in You Only Live Twice as well as Mr. Ling in Goldfinger in 1964 and SPECTRE Number 3 in the loose film adaptation of You Only Live Twice in 1967. Joanna Lumley had a small role in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as one of Blofeld's Angels of Death.

Rosamund Pike, who voiced Pussy Galore previously played Miranda Frost in Die Another Day alongside her co-star Toby Stephens, who played Gustav Graves. Tim Pigott-Smith played the British Secretary of Foreign Affairs in Quantum of Solace.

Producer Martin Jarvis, who voices Ian Fleming read an audiobook version of You Only Live Twice. Likewise Rosamund Pike read an audiobook of The Spy Who Loved Me and Joanna Lumley made abridged versions of Casino Royale, Live and Let Die and Diamonds Are Forever. Toby Stephens also read the Carte Blanche audio book.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Egan, Sean. James Bond - The Secret History. John Blake. ISBN 1786060205. 
  2. "The Man with the Golden Gun". Retrieved on 10 March 2020. 
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