Brief Lives

The first six series of the popular radio drama set in a Manchester legal practice, starring David Schofield

Frank Twist and Sarah Gold lead a maverick team of freelance paralegals operating in the mean(ish) streets of Manchester. Their agency operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, dispatching legal representatives to set free burglars, muggers and even some innocent people who find themselves on the wrong side of a cell door.

Frank and Sarah have a history, and a child, but now their relationship is purely business, and in these 30 episodes, they and their colleagues deal with cases ranging from shoplifting to attempted murder. Among their clientele are a suspected rapist, a young teacher accused of having an affair with a sixth-former, a girl arrested for assaulting a police officer and a local councillor who’s been caught selling drugs. In addition, Sarah and Frank themselves become the subjects of police interest when they’re called into Manchester Central for questioning – and that’s just the start of their Kafkaesque journey...

Created by Tom Fry and Sharon Kelly, these gripping dramas combine complex crime stories with witty humour. David Schofield stars as Frank Twist, with Gina Bellman, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Kathryn Hunt and Caroline Burns Cooke as Sarah Gold.

Written by Tom Fry and Sharon Kelly, Elizabeth Heery (Series 4 Episode 3, Series 5 Episode 4), Eve Steele and Ed Jones (Series 4 Episode 4), Eve Steele (Series 5 Episode 2), Lizi Patch (Series 6 Episode 2), Nuala O’Sullivan (Series 6 Episode 4)

Produced and directed by Susan Roberts (Series 1), Gary Brown (Series 2-6)

Music by Carl Harms