Ladies Of Letters Say No

The caustic correspondence between Irene Spencer and Vera Small is always richly entertaining, and these latest letters are no exception. Catty and competitive as ever, the pensioner pen-pals find themselves in yet more trouble in this latest series. Fundraising for her ancient local hospital, Irene organises a charity dinner, which Vera attends on the arm of her new beau, local millionaire Alan Trumper. Unfortunately, Vera has a choking incident and is admitted to that very hospital. Visiting her, Irene then has a mishap with a trolley and ends up stuck in the same ward. Soon the Ladies are sniping at one another, vying for Alan’s attention, and complaining about the struggling hospital’s standard of cleanliness – superbugs are taking over and rats are running rampant on the wards. Meanwhile, Vera’s granddaughter, Sabrina, has accidentally let the cat out of the bag about Vera’s harbouring of illegal immigrant Youssou, and no sooner is Vera out of hospital than she finds herself arrested. While in prison, she finds out that Alan has a sinister plot in mind and sets out to warn Irene – who manages to embroil them all in a complex plan leading to injury, imprisonment and an encounter with the Queen. What will Her Majesty make of the Ladies? 'An hilarious double act by Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge' - Northern Echo. 'Beautifully scripted and perfectly acted' - Daily Express.

1 CD. 1 hr 8 mins.

Lou Wakefield is a writer, director and actor, starring in the BBC's Inside Out and YTV's The Refuge and appearing in countless theatre plays. Her directing career began in theatre with productions at the Royal Court and Liverpool's Everyman. She has since directed many hours of television drama including Desmond's, Coronation Street and Brookside. She wrote ITV's Firm Friends, starring Billie Whitelaw and Madhur Jaffrey, which won a Royal Society of Television Award, and wrote and directed Never Say Die for Channel 4, starring Irene Handl. She has also written numerous highly acclaimed novels, including Tuscan Soup and Sleeping Partners.

Carole Hayman has written several novels, and also writes for TV, radio and film - including the hit drama series Rides for BBC1 and the comedy series The Refuge for Channel 4. She has published many short stories and literary articles, including features for The Independent, The Guardian, The Express, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and a regular column, 'My Lofty Life', for the Saturday Independent. Her first film as producer/writer, f2point8, was shortlisted for a BAFTA, while her second, the short animation Lofty Life, has appeared in several global film festivals and won an award from the UK Film Council. Her novel Hard Choices was shortlisted for the Saga Award for Wit - known as the Silver Booker.