The complete Series 1 and 2 of the drama based on the publications of the real-life Lady Whistledown - the anonymous 18th Century columnist, 'Mr Spectator'

London, 1710. Enigmatic man of letters Mr Spectator moves like a shadow through the city's streets and coffee-houses, observing the manners, morals and misdemeanours of his fellow men. He has his finger on the pulse of all the latest news and fashions, and shares his wit and wisdom in his daily news-sheet - which is avidly perused by readers from all stations of society, from the humble to the highest in the land. In these two radio series, we meet his greatest fans, who look to him to solve their problems and determine their futures...

Series 1 centres around Gilbert Mowbray, a clockmaker who is fast approaching his 40th birthday - and is not handling it well. Neglecting his workshop and his customers, he spends his time glued to Mr Spectator's musings - much to his wife Kitty's exasperation. As his midlife crisis deepens, can the nation's favourite agony uncle help Gilbert reassess his life?

In Series 2, Britain is nine million pounds in debt - but Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Harley has a plan to generate the necessary income: a little idea called the South Sea Company. However, to get his Bill through Parliament, he needs someone the public trusts to speak out in favour of the scheme. Enlisting the aid of Palace paper-boy Ned Dempsey, Harley determines to track down Mr Spectator - but can Ned unmask the elusive scribbler before time, and Harley's patience, run out?

Adapted by Elizabeth Kuti from Joseph Addison and Richard Steele's Spectator essays, this wry, whimsical drama stars Benjamin Whitrow (Pride and Prejudice) as Mr Spectator, the anonymous oracle who, like his fictional counterpart Lady Whistledown, hid behind a nom de plume to stoke controversy. Among the supporting cast are Richard Lumsden, Sam Troughton, Bryan Dick, David Schofield, Jemma Redgrave and Claire Rushbrook.

Production credits:

Inspired by and dramatised from Joseph Addison and Richard Steele's 18th-century Spectator essays by Elizabeth Kuti

Produced and directed by Heather Larmour

Violin played by Paddy O'Flaherty

Cast:

Mr Spectator - Benjamin Whitrow

Gilbert - Richard Lumsden

Kitty - Amy Marston

Jonathan - Sam Troughton

Coffee-boy - Samuel Barnett

Lady - Fo Cullen

Gentlemen - Miche Doherty/Richard Dormer/Chris McHallem/Mark Lambert

Stockjobbers - Miche Doherty/Mark Lambert

Disgruntled man/Freddie/Lion - Richard Dormer

Wife/Leticia - Sarah Kants

Spectacle inventor/Gravedigger - Chris McHallem

Signor Niccolini - Miche Docherty

Isabel - Emma Bolger

Jacob - Daniel Walsh

Aggie - Laura Conway

Ned Dempsey - Bryan Dick

Harley - David Schofield

Abigail - Christina Cole

Queen Anne - Jemma Redgrave

Anne Baldwin - Claire Rushbrook

Defoe - Sam Dale

Aunt Maude - Stella McCusker

Opera Singer - David Revels

With Seainin Brennan, Niall Cusack, Paul Kennedy, Marty Maguire and Charlie Niblock-Hamill

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 12-16 January 2009 (Series 1), 16-20 August 2010 (Series 2)