The Men from the Ministry: The Final Episodes

The Complete Series 11-14 of the Classic BBC Radio Comedy

By: Edward Taylor

Narrated by: Richard Murdoch, Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley, Deryck Guyler, John Graham, full cast

The complete Series 11-14 of the long-running Civil Service sitcom

The hugely popular precursor to ‘Yes Minister’, The Men from the Ministry had the nation in stitches for 13 series between 1962 and 1977. In 1980, a fourteenth series, comprising remakes of episodes from Series 1-4, was made by the BBC Transcription Service and aired abroad. Some of these remakes are the only surviving versions of their stories, as recordings of series 1-4 have been lost to time.

In this fourth and final volume, comprising all 43 episodes from Series 11-14 of the classic comedy, we take one last ride on the Ministry merry-go-round in the company of bird-brained bureaucrats ‘Number One’ and ‘Number Two’ of the General Assistance Department. As they spread chaos and confusion in the corridors of Whitehall, their manifold misadventures include trying to play Cupid for secretary Mildred, suspecting each other of espionage, plumbing new depths with a naval survey, bungling a British food promotion in New York and blundering through Anglo-Chinese Friendship month...

Deryck Guyler stars as ‘Number One’ and Richard Murdoch as ‘Number Two’, with Norma Ronald as Mildred Murfin and Ronald Baddiley as Sir Gregory Pitkin. Among the guest stars are Pat Coombs, Cass Allen, John Cole, Corinna Marlowe, Hilary Pritchard and Nicolette McKenzie.

NB: Some of the language and humour on this recording reflects the era in which it was first broadcast, and due to the age of the source material, the sound quality may vary.

Cast and credits
Written and produced by Edward Taylor, with contributions from John Graham, Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke
Theme music: Top Dog by Ivor Slaney
With thanks to Keith Wickham

‘Number One’ (Deryck Lennox-Brown) – Deryck Guyler
‘Number Two’ (Richard Lamb) – Richard Murdoch
Mildred Murfin – Norma Ronald
Sir Gregory Pitkin – Ronald Baddiley
Other parts played by John Graham
With guest stars including: Pat Coombs, Cass Allen, John Cole, Corinna Marlowe, Hilary Pritchard and Nicolette McKenzie

First broadcast on Radio 4 26 May-18 Aug 1975 (series 11), 6 Jul-24 Aug 1976 (series 12), 4 Jul-22 Aug 1977 (series 13). Series 14 first recorded 13 Apr-6 May 1980.

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