Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Beachcomber….By the Way cover art

Beachcomber….By the Way

By: J.B. Morton
Narrated by: Richard Ingrams, John Wells, Patricia Routledge, John Sessions, June Whitfield, Joan Sims, full cast
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Life, Death & Sex with Mike and Sue cover art
Tales From the Mausoleum Club cover art
The Harpoon cover art
Lenin of the Rovers: The Adventures of a Communist Football Club cover art
You’ll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of Hamish & Dougal cover art
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete BBC Collection cover art
Maureen & Friends cover art
Hancock’s Half Hour: The Marriage Bureau cover art
Nebulous: The Complete Series 1-3 cover art
Red for Danger cover art
Sherlock Holmes: The Carleton Hobbs Collection cover art
Reluctant Persuaders: The Complete Series 1-4 cover art
Robert Louis Stevenson: A BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
The Absolutely Radio Show cover art
A Complete Guide to British Birds cover art
High Table, Lower Orders: The Complete Series 1 and 2 cover art

Summary

All 18 episodes of the BBC radio series based on J. B. Morton's surreally comic 'Beachcomber' column.

J.B. Morton took over the 'By The Way' column in the Daily Express in 1924 - succeeding his friend D.B. Wyndham-Lewis as Beachcomber - and continued writing it for over 50 years. Anarchic, absurdist and profoundly influential, it had a huge cult following, and paved the way for a great deal of modern humour.

These three series bring Beachcomber's irreverent jottings to hilarious life, with Richard Ingrams as the eponymous author: 'Greetings, my public', interruptions from John Wells as Prodnose: 'What is all this?', 'Begone, you oaf!' (door slams after Prodnose), and Patricia Routledge, John Sessions and Joan Sims as the notorious Twelve Red-Bearded Dwarves, among others. Also participating in the nonsense are silken-voiced announcer Brian Perkins and guest stars June Whitfield, Brian Bowles, Simon Greenall and Henrietta Gooden.

Featuring Morton's familiar colourful characters, in all their larger-than life glory - including Dr Strabismus (whom God preserve) of Utrecht, Colonel Wretch, Mr Justice Cocklecarrot, Captain Foulenough, Lady Cabstanleigh, Lord Shortcake, Dingipoos, Carstairs and Big White - these 18 rib-tickling adventures perfectly recreate his wonderful, whimsical world.

Production credits

Adapted by Michael Barfield with Richard Ingrams

Starring Richard Ingrams, John Wells, John Sessions, Patricia Routledge and Joan Sims

With June Whitfield, Brian Bowles, Simon Greenall and Henrietta Gooden

Announcer: Brian Perkins

Producer: Harry Thompson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 18 March-22 April 1989 (Series 1), 13 July-17 August 1991 (Series 2), 9 November-14 December 1994 (Series 3)

©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Critic reviews

"As schoolboys, my brother and I worshipped Beachcomber...and that led to the birth of The Goon Show." (Spike Milligan)

What listeners say about Beachcomber….By the Way

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 1 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Of its time and not in a good way

A lot of the views and jokes in this have aged extremely badly, there isn’t a lot more to be said

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!