Six cosy detective dramas about secretary turned super-sleuth Liz Parker

Liz Parker dreams of being a gumshoe, like her hardboiled heroes Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer. But instead, she's stuck as secretary at the Ace Agency, a small-time investigation bureau above a curry house in the backstreets of Birmingham. Her lecherous boss, Mr Antrobus, is too tied up with typist Gloria to pay much attention to the cases that come in - so Liz decides to solve them herself...

In A Confidential Agent, Liz gets embroiled in the affairs of an old friend and an old flame. But as she digs into the past, she unearths secrets, lies and shady dealings... All that Glisters sees her consulted by a young man whose girlfriend, Tracy, has gone missing. Looking into her disappearance, she uncovers a seedy photographic business with a sideline in blackmail.

Poison in the Air finds Liz promoted to fully-fledged investigator. But her boss still isn't taking her seriously - so when she hears of poison-pen letters being sent to an old people's home, she's determined to unmask the culprit... In A Husband Scorned, she finds herself attracted to a teacher whose wife has gone astray: but is he a victim, or a villain? In Sharks Have Pearly Teeth, with the agency suffering a cash-flow crisis, Liz learns the bitter truth behind a case of moneylending and espionage. Finally, Fire sees her investigating threats against a Greek dressmaker - and when his clothing factory goes up in flames, she must decide if sabotage or fraud are involved.

Scripted by award-winning dramatist Nick McCarty, these engaging dramas star Rosemary Martin as Liz Parker, Terry Molloy as Mr Antrobus and Clare Faulconbridge as Gloria.

Production credits
Written by Nick McCarty
Directed by Philip Martin
Pianist: Harold Rich

Starring Rosemary Martin as Liz Parker, Terry Molloy as Mr Antrobus and Clare Faulconbridge as Gloria

A Confidential Agent
Cast: Barbara Atkinson, Edwin Richfield, Roger Hume, Terry Molloy, Joyce Gibbs, Dave Mitty, Gordon Coulson, Jackie Abbey Taylor, Pauline Wattis
Other parts played by members of the cast
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 5 June 1986

All That Glisters
Cast: Roger Hume, Vikki Chambers, Kim Durham, Andy Hockley, Judith Pearson, Tex Flint
Other parts played by members of the cast
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 23 July 1987

Poison in the Air
Cast: Roger Hume, Barbara Atkinson, Joyce Gibbs, Simon Carter, Alton Douglas, Ralph Lawton, Veda Warwick, Judy Bennett
Other parts played by members of the cast
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3 July 1991

A Husband Scorned
Cast: Roger Hume, Barbara Atkinson, Joyce Gibbs, Simon Carter, Leon Tanner, Martin Matthews, Janet Whiteside
Other parts played by members of the cast
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10 July 1991

Sharks Have Pearly Teeth
Cast: Roger Hume, Kimberley Hope, Kim Durham, Dave Mitty, Alan Devereux, Joyce Gibbs, Marian Kemmer
Other parts played by members of the cast
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 July 1991

Fire
Cast: Roger Hume, Ian Lindsay, Kim Durham, Patricia Gallimore, Renu Setna, Philip Molloy
Other parts played by members of the cast
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 July 1991

Episode sequence updated July 2023