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.
Down Payment on Death cover art

Down Payment on Death

By: Jim Eldridge
Narrated by: full cast, Manning Wilson, Frances Jeater, Glyn Owen, Dinsdale Landen, Jon Croft, Peter Craze
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 £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

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...

Sergeant Cribb cover art
Assassins cover art
Murder at the Fitzwilliam cover art
Shadows of the Dead cover art
Murder at Aldwych Station cover art
The Cold, Cold Ground cover art
Murder at the Ritz cover art
Private Eye Billy Rucker: Shut Eye & Hold Back the Night cover art
Vogel & Fraser cover art
Snap: Clean Break or Clean Slate? cover art
Kill the Pharaoh! cover art
Birkett cover art
Red for Danger cover art
Mrs Sidhu Investigates cover art
Liz Parker - A Confidential Agent cover art
Ann Cleeves: Raven Black, White Nights & Other Shetland Mysteries cover art

Summary

Dinsdale Landen stars in this gripping vintage 1970s crime drama about a retired hitman tempted by one last job

Sick of the spying business, professional assassin Art Gordo decides to quit the Secret Service - but his old life won't leave him alone.

It's Christmas, three months after his retirement, and Gordo is visited by an old colleague with a proposition. A senior MI7 agent has been selling secrets to the opposition and needs to be eliminated - and the job can't be traced back to the Department. What's more, the task must be completed within the next five days. Clarke's offering big money - but despite the temptation, Art turns him down. Only someone won't take 'no' for an answer.

Hunted by a mysterious nemesis who'll stop at nothing - including murder - to get their way, Gordo finds himself caught in a deadly game of deception, double-cross and betrayal. To stay alive, he must find out the truth about his shadowy target, and re-enter a world he thought he'd left behind. A world with only one rule: kill or be killed...

Originally produced in the 1970s, this twisty, fast-moving suspense thriller stars Dinsdale Landen as Art Gordo and Frances Jeater as Louise.

Production credits

Adapted from his own novel by Jim Eldridge

Produced by John Fawcett Wilson

Cast
Art Gordo - Dinsdale Landen
Clarke - Manning Wilson
Louise Lenehan - Frances Jeater
Ben/Roberts/Man on phone - Jon Croft
Joe/Ferguson - Peter Craze
Charles Allweather - Glyn Owen
Paul Le Clerk - Donald Gee
Sally Le Clerk - Joanna Wake
Leon Young - Basil Henson
Francis/Forbes - Douglas Blackwell
Parsons - Terrence Hardiman
Hotel porter - Frank Coda

First broadcast on BBC World Service, 3-31 May 1976

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

What listeners say about Down Payment on Death

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

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

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

Excellent

Excellent BBC spy thriller. Dinsdale Landen is great in the title role. Would highly recommend

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Down payment on death

Down Payment on Death, is a fast paced thriller from the 1970s. The action quickly moves from location to location, and the dialogue is concise and efficient. The actual storyline is good if a little meagre in content. Good performances by the cast are let down by production, with overly long 70s music in-between each episode.
Nevertheless, there is an action packed and thrilling ending.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Classic British Thriller

Jim Eldridge is a genius with many classic sitcoms like Parsley Sidings and Tony’s. Very 70s/80s. Good for all ages - whether you remember it back then or you weren’t born.

Great performances, sound effects and engaging story.

The only reason it’s 4 stars and not 5 is that it’s a bit short. I wish it was longer!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!