Since the brutal rape and acid attack that left her permanently disfigured, Katie Piper has rebuilt her life one determined step at a time. Her extraordinary story of strength and recovery has captivated and inspired many. In this powerful sequel to her bestselling memoir, Katie reveals what happened next, since she bravely faced up to the world.With her trademark honesty, humour and heartfelt emotion, Katie shares the highs and lows she has faced as life changed in ways she never ...

A BBC Radio 4 drama looking at the impact on a divorcing couple of recent changes to British prenuptial law. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 21 January 2011. Two academics, British Paul (Sam Dale) and American Amy (Sally Orrock), have married in the US with a prenuptial agreement. They did so because Paul's previous marriage ended in a messy divorce, making him wary of future commitment. Paul loves Amy and was relieved to hear that, like him, she doesn't want children. Acce...

A hilarious, straight-talking read for fans of Fiona Neill and Gill Hornby’s ‘The Hive’.Maia is a cleaner for ladies who lunch. With mops and buckets in tow, she spends her days dashing from house to house cleaning up after them, as they rush from one exhausting Pilates class to the next.But an unusual inheritance catapults her and her children into the very exclusive world of Stirling Hall School – a place where no child can survive without organic apricots and no woman go...

Resourceful mum Shanice is persuaded by her next-door neighbour, Evie, to take up the bizarre sport of jelly wrestling to make ends meet in this BBC Radio 4 'Afternon Play'. Becky, AKA 'Azaria The Amazon', shows Shanice the ropes, and she is soon wowing the rowdy stag night audiences with her slams and smackdowns. By night she's bikini clad 'Alice Malice', by day she's mum to gymnastics-mad Alex and a devoted daughter to her disabled, ex-army dad. When these two worlds threaten to collide,...

An offbeat 21st Century urban love story starring Rosie Cavaliero and John Dougall, originally broadcast as BBC Radio 4's 'Afternoon Play' on 12 January 2011. It's a difficult time for Sue, her mother has just died and the kids have moved out. She has a vision of leaving their tough housing estate behind and starting a new life by the sea but husband Finn earns little and won't borrow... Finn is a rock in this sensitive tale of love, loyalty and dreams. 'My Haunted Expression' stars Rosie ...

Evie, a phenomenally bright but socially marginalised fifteen year-old, has had it with Western Civilization. Self-educated in the ideas of the Luddites, Mao and T.E. Lawrence, she wants to launch a mission against technology and the damage she believes it has wrought on the human race. She's taken a look at human history and decided it's time things changed. For good. But can she get her mobile-addicted classmates to join with her?

The emergence of the Polgar sisters in the 1970s and 80s rocked the chess world. In a heavily male dominated game, the three Hungarian girls broke record after record. The youngest, Judit, was talked of as a potential world champion. The Chess Girls is the story of their parents, Laszlo and Klara Polgar, and how they defied the Communist authorities to conduct a remarkable educational experiment. Laszlo Polgar, convinced that any healthy child can be trained to become a genius, set out to ...

A BBC Radio 4 semi-autobiographical play by BAFTA award-winning writer Trevor Preston, telling the story of Charlie, who suddenly re-discovers the passion and energy of his youth. 'Small Acts of Kindness' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 15 March 2011. In the late 1950s Charlie was a violent and uncontrollable entrant to art school. His teacher changed the course of his life. 'Small Acts of Kindness' catches up with Charlie as his mentor's death shifts everything once mo...

Ten short BBC Radio 4 plays from an eclectic mix of writers, including Josie Long, Nick Warburton and Tim Key, exploring one of the most important human emotions. 'Ten Lessons in Love' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 25 April 2011.This accumulation of mini-plays encompasses romance, heartbreak and some adult themes; each play offering a very different perspective on love. David uses 'the machine' to revisit his old memories - he wants to pinpoint the exact moment he fel...

At the heart of this explosive BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama are two morally opposed characters, both in love with the same woman, who has just - tragically - died. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 22 March 2011, The Magnificent Andrea is the first original radio play by Nigel Planer ('The Young Ones', 'Hairspray'), in which two wonderful characters, Barry (Roger Allam) and Nigel (Nigel Planer), collide and wrestle over the memory of their shared inspirational warrior wo...

A BBC Radio 4 comedy musical drama, ‘The Diva in Me’, written by multi award-winning playwright Charlotte Jones, for the actress and extraordinary mimic Phillippa Stanton, with music woven into the narrative.Phillipa spends Saturday night eating toast and fantasizing about a boy-man from Southern Electric. She can sing anything from Bjork, to Winehouse, Garland to Gaga, even Shirley Bassey, but why has the world turned it’s back on her? On top of her extraordinary ...

A BBC Radio 4 drama of mesmerising delicacy from Julia Blackburn, winner of the Pen Ackerley prize for memoir 2009, and daughter of poet Thomas Blackburn. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 29 March 2011. Thomas Blackburn was an alcoholic before he became a poet, but in spite of his drunken rages, his erratic behaviour and his crazy obsession with death, Julia always knew that he loved her. She learnt the transforming power of words from him, and she clung to them, a life raft...