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BBC Radio 4 Bond adaptations starring Toby Stephens - Casino Royale 20th April 2025

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  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,563
    @mtm Do you have the direct link for the listing?
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 17,604
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    @mtm Do you have the direct link for the listing?

    Sure:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000gdtd
  • Fearless_FredFearless_Fred
    Posts: 6
    So, after TMWTGG later on today, thast leaves just CR and TSWLM yet to be done as a BBC Radio play (if you include the Michael Jayston YOLT, of course). I can't see them doing TSWLM, given how the structure is so different and it doesn't really lend itself to adaptation. I can see why they've held back from making CR, given how recent the film is (and the fact that the film is actually fairly faithful to the novel until the Venice bit at the end), but I'd like to see them adapt that for Toby Stephens.

    After that, should they continue? Personally I'd like them to try to do some of the short stories, maybe by creating an overarching narrative to connect The Living Daylights, From A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, and Risico into one story. Colonel Sun would be a good adaptation too. They can skip the Gardner & Benson novels (imo) & adapt the five new continuation novels if allowed by Eon & Ian Fleming Publications.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 17,604
    Yeah there’s not a lot of good stuff left, really. Doing the Horowitz novels would be rather fun though.
  • PussyNoMorePussyNoMore
    edited March 2020 Posts: 520
    PussyNoMore adores these BBC dramatisations.
    They have been faithfully adapted, intelligently abridged and extremely well produced.
    TMWTGG was no exception.
    The most dramatic introduction was there in all its glory and you could virtually smell Jamaica when the setting moved - not to mention the cordite from Scaramanga’s .45
    Toby Stephens is phenomenal as Bond. He shows Craig a clean pair of heels.
    What’s more when you listen to this, you realise how fantastic faithful screen adaptations of Fleming’s novels could be !
  • BonSimonLeBon_1BonSimonLeBon_1
    Posts: 2,436
    Loved this adaptation, the quality of them has been great. That said, listening to this has reminded me of how TMWTGG is Fleming's weakest novel for me.
  • PussyNoMorePussyNoMore
    Posts: 520
    BonSimonLeBon_1 wrote: »
    Loved this adaptation, the quality of them has been great. That said, listening to this has reminded me of how TMWTGG is Fleming's weakest novel for me.

    BonSimonLeBon_1, The Pussy agrees that it’s his weakest novel but strangely he thought it performed better as a radio dramatisation.

  • Fearless_FredFearless_Fred
    Posts: 6
    I think what helped make it surpass the original is that the Radio adaptation used the ability to give an "inner monologue" to bond that was missing from the original novel. That's where Radio excels over film (at least in my opinion).
  • moneyofpropre2moneyofpropre2 France
    Posts: 876
    The YT version :
  • Ryan1991Ryan1991
    Posts: 18
    It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out as it's probably one of the novels that is the most dated.

    I'm looking forward to hearing Toby Stephens' portrayal in YOLT. His performance really rings true to Bond from the books.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,580
    Are they doing another one of these BBC radio plays? I'm a bit out of the loop I'm afraid.
  • Ryan1991Ryan1991
    Posts: 18
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Are they doing another one of these BBC radio plays? I'm a bit out of the loop I'm afraid.

    From what I heard, the original plan was to cover all.of Fleming's works. I think they're more sporadic now but we can hope that they'll eventually be completed.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,580
    Ryan1991 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Are they doing another one of these BBC radio plays? I'm a bit out of the loop I'm afraid.

    From what I heard, the original plan was to cover all.of Fleming's works. I think they're more sporadic now but we can hope that they'll eventually be completed.

    Yes, it looks like they're going to do all of the Fleming Bond novels and maybe even the short stories too somehow though that remains to be seen of course.

    I just thought that with the revival of my thread I'd perhaps missed an announcement on the next Radio 4 adaptation! :)
  • Ryan1991Ryan1991
    Posts: 18
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ryan1991 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Are they doing another one of these BBC radio plays? I'm a bit out of the loop I'm afraid.

    From what I heard, the original plan was to cover all.of Fleming's works. I think they're more sporadic now but we can hope that they'll eventually be completed.

    Yes, it looks like they're going to do all of the Fleming Bond novels and maybe even the short stories too somehow though that remains to be seen of course.

    I just thought that with the revival of my thread I'd perhaps missed an announcement on the next Radio 4 adaptation! :)

    Sorry to get your hopes up. I can't imagine YOLT will be far away. They've done practically all the others.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,580
    Ryan1991 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ryan1991 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Are they doing another one of these BBC radio plays? I'm a bit out of the loop I'm afraid.

    From what I heard, the original plan was to cover all.of Fleming's works. I think they're more sporadic now but we can hope that they'll eventually be completed.

    Yes, it looks like they're going to do all of the Fleming Bond novels and maybe even the short stories too somehow though that remains to be seen of course.

    I just thought that with the revival of my thread I'd perhaps missed an announcement on the next Radio 4 adaptation! :)

    Sorry to get your hopes up. I can't imagine YOLT will be far away. They've done practically all the others.

    Don't worry about that. Yes, I'll be looking forward to them doing YOLT even though BBC Radio did a good version of it back in 1990 with Michael Jayston as Bond.
  • timdalton007timdalton007 North Alabama
    Posts: 160
    Just been reading Mark Edlitz's excellent The Many Lives of James Bond at long last and his interview with Michael Jayston made for interesting reading as a fan of the audio Bond. Particularly Jayston saying there were plans to do more when the BBC YOLT was done, but that it didn't go ahead and it was only with the Stephens ones happened that Bond on audio became more of a thing. All of which makes me curious to know which ones they might have done circa 1991-92.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 17,604
    Here's one I think we missed: Martin Jarvis was interviewed before Christmas and let slip that the next Radio 4 adaptation is Casino Royale

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/martin-jarvis-james-bond-audiobooks-radio-william/

  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,218
    mtm wrote: »
    Here's one I think we missed: Martin Jarvis was interviewed before Christmas and let slip that the next Radio 4 adaptation is Casino Royale

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/martin-jarvis-james-bond-audiobooks-radio-william/

    Oh awesome!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 2024 Posts: 18,580
    mtm wrote: »
    Here's one I think we missed: Martin Jarvis was interviewed before Christmas and let slip that the next Radio 4 adaptation is Casino Royale

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/martin-jarvis-james-bond-audiobooks-radio-william/

    That's welcome news. For some reason I had it in my head that they'd already done all of the Fleming Bond novels and we were waiting to see how they would approach the short stories. It would be great to see them adapted too. A radio adaptation of Kingsley Amis's Colonel Sun would be the icing on the cake once all the Fleming Bonds were adapted. It was written in the 1960s and is the best written Bond continuation novel in my opinion so it should really be adapted too. Realistically, it might be the only chance to ever see the book adapted in full given they've already taken so many bits from it in the Eon Bond films.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson
    Posts: 2,161
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Here's one I think we missed: Martin Jarvis was interviewed before Christmas and let slip that the next Radio 4 adaptation is Casino Royale

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/martin-jarvis-james-bond-audiobooks-radio-william/

    That's welcome news. For some reason I had it in my head that they'd already done all of the Fleming Bond novels and we were waiting to see how they would approach the short stories. It would be great to see them adapted too. A radio adaptation of Kingsley Amis's Colonel Sun would be the icing on the cake once all the Fleming Bonds were adapted. It was written in the 1960s and is the best written Bond continuation novel in my opinion so it should really be adapted too. Realistically, it might be the chance to ever see the book adapted in full given they've already taken so many bits from it in the Eon Bond films.

    Exactly.
  • timdalton007timdalton007 North Alabama
    Posts: 160
    mtm wrote: »
    Here's one I think we missed: Martin Jarvis was interviewed before Christmas and let slip that the next Radio 4 adaptation is Casino Royale

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/martin-jarvis-james-bond-audiobooks-radio-william/

    I'd missed this bit of news and very welcome it is, too. Given we're going on four years since Golden Gun was broadcast, I'd rather assumed the series had ended. Nice to think there's a chance they'll complete the set. And I second @Dragonpol's idea of them adapting Colonel Sun, even if I don't hold that novel in quite so high regard. Just as likely is them tackling the Horowitz trilogy given they slot in around the various other adaptations.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 17,604
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/cate-blanchett-starring-in-first-radio-4-drama-the-fever

    The tenth Ian Fleming radio adaptation by Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres, starring Toby Stephens as 007 is on its way, to be broadcast on 20th April. Also starring Hugh Bonneville as Le Chiffre and Susannah Fielding as Vesper Lynd.

    Full listing:

    Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

    Dramatised by Archie Scottney

    Directed by Martin Jarvis

    Cast:

    James Bond - Toby Stephens

    Vesper Lynd - Susannah Fielding

    Le Chiffre - Hugh Bonneville

    Felix Leiter - Josh Stamberg

    René Mathis - Matthew Wolf

    M - John Standing

    Head of Staff - Lloyd Owen

    Barman - Darren Richardson

    Mrs Dupont - Anna Mathias

    Assassin - Andre Sogliuzzo

    Nurse - Moira Quirk

    Doctor - Henri Lubatti

    Le Patron - Alan Shearman

    Ian Fleming (Narrator) - Martin Jarvis

    Other parts played by members of the company.

    Original music composed and played by A-Mnemonic

    Sound design: Charles Carroll, Neil Wogenson, Mark Holden

    Producer: Rosalind Ayres

    Director: Martin Jarvis

    A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited March 20 Posts: 13,372
    Just done some house cleaning and combined what were four separate threads from different times over the years on top of the most recent post above by mtm.

    Super excited to see what I hope is not the last adaptation announced.

    I'm unsure whether You Only Live Twice would be adapted as it has been before and if The Spy Who Loved Me would as it is not told from Bond's perspective.

    Interesting this one seems to be one hour as opposed to 90 minutes.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited March 20 Posts: 17,604
    Samuel001 wrote: »
    Just done some house cleaning and combined what were four separate threads from different times over the years on top of the most recent post above by mtm.

    Thanks, I tried a search for the thread but the search system isn't much good as we all know (well, unless you want to find the On This Day thread :D )
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,372
    No worries. I knew their had been a thread before but no idea multiple existed. Pretty cool to see these plays have been discussed for over 10 years on these boards. I think they are awesome and so well done.

    Amazon should be taking notes!
  • timdalton007timdalton007 North Alabama
    Posts: 160
    The BBC Radio 4 Casino Royale is going to be broadcast at long last on the 20th of April per a BBC Media Centre announcement today.

    https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2025/cate-blanchett-starring-in-first-radio-4-drama-the-fever
    Finally, Radio 4 listeners can look forward to Casino Royale, the tenth James Bond dramatisation by Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres. This adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1953 spy thriller stars Toby Stephens as James Bond, Susannah Fielding as Vesper Lynd, and Hugh Bonneville as Le Chiffre. Bond is tasked with bankrupting Le Chiffre at baccarat, leading to a thrilling confrontation at the Casino Royale.


    Casino Royale 20th April, 15:00 – 16:00

    Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

    Dramatised by Archie Scottney

    Directed by Martin Jarvis

    Cast:

    James Bond - Toby Stephens

    Vesper Lynd - Susannah Fielding

    Le Chiffre - Hugh Bonneville

    Felix Leiter - Josh Stamberg

    René Mathis - Matthew Wolf

    M - John Standing

    Head of Staff - Lloyd Owen

    Barman - Darren Richardson

    Mrs Dupont - Anna Mathias

    Assassin - Andre Sogliuzzo

    Nurse - Moira Quirk

    Doctor - Henri Lubatti

    Le Patron - Alan Shearman

    Ian Fleming (Narrator) - Martin Jarvis

    Other parts played by members of the company.

    Original music composed and played by A-Mnemonic

    Sound design: Charles Carroll, Neil Wogenson, Mark Holden

    Producer: Rosalind Ayres

    Director: Martin Jarvis

    A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,580
    It seems there are in fact at least five of these threads. :)
  • timdalton007timdalton007 North Alabama
    Posts: 160
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    It seems there are in fact at least five of these threads. :)
    As I realized after I made the post as this was the thread that I’d bookmarked some time ago. What I get for not looking further down the first page before going to my bookmarks. 😆
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 17,604
    They've been going for 17 years, which is kind of bonkers. It had only been 6 years since Toby Stephens had appeared in a Bond film at that point... (!)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,580
    timdalton007 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    It seems there are in fact at least five of these threads. :)
    As I realized after I made the post as this was the thread that I’d bookmarked some time ago. What I get for not looking further down the first page before going to my bookmarks. 😆

    It's fine. At least one of those threads was mine. I had no idea there were so many of them! Good idea that they've been merged together.
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