The Cinderella Service & Cinderella D-Day

Two BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramas

By: Julia Stoneham - dramatisation

Narrated by: Annabel Mullion, Becky Hindley, Cathy Murphy, Deborah McAndrew, full cast, Ioan Meredith, Jilly Bond, June Barrie, Samantha Bond, Tilly Vosburgh

Samantha Bond stars in two captivating stories set around a hostel for Land Girls during World War Two.

Based in Devon in the 1940s, these two dramas follow the lives and loves of a group of young women, all from different backgrounds, but all determined to do their bit for king and country in the Land Army. Billeted in a hastily converted farmhouse, they face cramped conditions and gruelling work - but there's always dances at the village hop and the chance of romance with a GI....

The Cinderella Service

It's 1943, and Alice Todd has just separated from her husband. With a 10-year-old son to care for, she accepts the position of warden at a hostel for Land Girls: but is she up to the job? Looking after 10 lively, independent women is hard, and when Alice's competence is questioned, she doubts her ability to cope. Will the loyalty and friendship of her girls persuade her to stick it out?

Cinderella D-Day

1944. Alice is still busy running the Women's Land Army hostel, as well as taking tentative steps in her new career and a fledgling relationship. But the girls in her care are finding that life in wartime does not run smoothly. As the hostilities rumble on, there is happiness and heartbreak in store and the hostel residents face danger and some stark personal choices....

Created by Julia Stoneham - a regular writer on hit TV show The House of Elliott - these evocative wartime dramas star Samantha Bond as Alice, with a cast including June Barrie, Tilly Vosburgh, Becky Hindley and Deborah McAndrew.

Directed by Tracey Neale

Theme tune: 'This Time the Dream's on Me' by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

The Cinderella Service

Alice - Samantha Bond

Edward-John - James Cohen

Rose - June Barrie

Annie - Tilly Vosburgh

Mabel - Cathy Murphy

Marian - Becky Hindley

Winnie - Deborah McAndrew

Martha - Rachel Lewis

Taffy - Elaine Claxton

Georgina - Annabel Mullion

Chrissie - Teresa Gallagher

Margery Brewster - Tessa Worsley

Roger Bayliss - Peter Yapp

Christopher Bayliss - Andrew Wlncott

Ferdie - Bill Wallis

Oliver Maynard/Fred - Ian Masters

Ron Chapman - David Collings

Mrs Bowden - Jilly Bond

Nora - Abigail Docherty

Andreas - Walter Van Dyke

Ruben - David Antrobus

Alec/John Boyce - Matthew Morgan

James Todd - David Jarvis

Mary Brewer - Eva Stuart

Other parts played by members of the cast

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5th-19th April 1995

Cinderella D-Day

Alice - Samantha Bond

Rose - June Barrie

Georgina - Louise Lombard

Christopher - Adrian Lukis

Annie - Tilly Vosburgh

Marian - Becky Hindley

Winnie - Deborah McAndrew

Taffy - Elaine Claxton

Martha - Rachel Lewis

Mabel - Cathy Murphy

Edward-John - Sam Collings

Roger Bayliss - Ioan Meredith

Margery Brewster - Tessa Worsley

Ferdie - Bill Wallis

Lionel Brewer - Alex Lowe

Mary Brewer - Ann Beach

Ruben - David Antrobus

Marvin - Robert Harper

Joan - Elaine Pyke

Kiwi - Joanna Monro

James - David Jarvis

Dave - Dominic Taylor

Eleanor - Abigail Docherty

Beryl/Mrs Tucker/Fran - Janet Maw

Lionel - Alex Lowe

Fred - Denys Hawthorne

Italian POW - Chris Pavlo

Arthur - William Howard

Other parts played by members of the cast

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18th September-2nd October 1996

©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Coming to terms with hard leadership, for women

I loved it.
It's funny how certain topics stand the test of time.
And no matter the backdrop, a woman's existence today can include what was included in so much of what Annie Todd endured. The leadership role she took on and how she made decisions for herself and other women in her path and purpose is so similar to any woman's life today.
I enjoyed the dramatization and recommend it for women who like reading about another's struggle with making the best of what life throws her way, as this was well done.