Samantha Bond and Hugh Bonneville star in this entertaining sitcom about a writer whose romance novel is interrupted by meeting a real man

Author Anna Shelby is desperately trying to finish her latest bodice-ripper, a torrid tale of passion and jealousy set against a dazzling period background. But she's finding it hard to concentrate on her plotlines as, after years of having a purely fictional love life, she's finally met a real, live man.

Unfortunately, her fantasies about Brian are constantly interrupted by her characters, chirpy Cockney muse Minnie and chisel-jawed hero Lord Robert. Concerned about the lack of authorial presence, they insist on leaping off the page to narrate their own story...

As love blossoms for Anna, her creative juices begin to flow - but when Brian's friend Dougie lures him away to the Shetland Islands to build fibreglass ducks, she's hit by a bout of writer's block. With her book on hold, her deadline looming and her heart broken, is there any hope of a happy ending?

Written by award-winning playwright Michelle Read, this sparkling rom-com stars Samantha Bond as Anna and Hugh Bonneville as Brian, with a full cast including Adjoa Andoh, Andrew Wincott and Michael Fenton Stevens.

Production credits
Written by Michelle Read
Produced by Dawn Ellis

Cast
Anna - Samantha Bond
Brian - Hugh Bonneville
Deirdre - Beth Chalmers
Fertility Doll - Adjoa Andoh
Book - Michael Fenton Stevens
Brenda - Michelle Read
Buddah - Kammy Darweish
Bob - Andrew Wincott
Minnie - Cathy Murphy/Sue Elliott-Nicholls
Dougie - Ewan Bailey

First broadcast BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:

Episode 1: Thwarted 26 June 2000
Episode 2: Love Hurts 10 October 2001
Episode 3: Clouds 17 October 2001
Episode 4: An Ending..? 24 October 2001