Tower of London: A Vintage BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisation
"An epic 13-part dramatisation of William Harrison Ainsworth’s historical romance, centring around the rise and fall of Lady Jane Grey
William Harrison Ainsworth was lauded by his contemporaries as a successor to Sir Walter Scott, and was named in 1847 as one of the three most popular writers in England (alongside Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Charles Dickens). His first three historical novels were inspired by the lives of Dick Turpin, ‘Honest Jack’ Sheppard and ‘the Admirable Crichton’, but with The Tower of London, he decided to base his book around a place rather than a person. Depicting the ancient citadel ‘in its triple light of a palace, a prison and a fortress’, he went on to weave a thrilling tale of power struggles, romance and political intrigue – featuring two coronations, a wedding, several executions and a siege...
It begins in July 1553, as the newly-crowned Queen Jane makes her way by barge to the Tower, where she will spend the first days of her reign. Following the death of Edward VI, she has been installed on the throne by her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, who has married her to his son Lord Guildford Dudley with hopes of making him King.
But danger lurks within the Tower’s high walls, for there are many who plot against Jane: not least Simon Renard, the Spanish Ambassador, who is determined to make Catherine of Aragon’s Catholic daughter, Mary, Queen in Jane’s place. Surrounded by enemies and betrayed by those she trusted most, Jane is led step by step to her tragic fate... Meanwhile, the beautiful Cicely, the ‘Rose of the Tower’, has fallen in love with Dudley’s squire, Cuthbert Cholmondeley, only for their budding romance to be thwarted by the villainous, jealous head jailer Nightgall. As history plays out around her, is she destined for happiness or heartbreak?
Dramatised by actor and writer Tony Van den Bergh, this riveting 1968 drama dates from the glory days of the BBC Repertory Company, and features an ensemble cast including Gudrun Ure, Peter Baldwin, Francis de Wolff, Rosalind Shanks, Garard Green and Marjorie Westbury.
With thanks to Keith Wickham and the Radio Circle
NB: This recording contains dated language and attitudes
Production credits
Written by William Harrison Ainsworth
First published 1840
Dramatised by Tony Van den Bergh
Produced and directed by R D Smith
Cast
Jane, the Queen – Gudrun Ure
Nightgall, head jailer – Peter Baldwin
Magog, a giant warder – Francis de Wolff
Ribald, his crony – Leigh Crutchley
Archbishop Cranmer/Arundel – John Wyse
Bishop Ridley – Ralph Truman
de Noailles, French Ambassador – David March
Simon Renard, Spanish Ambassador – Malcolm Hayes
Suffolk – Peter Williams
Lord Guilford Dudley – Michael Harbour
Cuthbert, his squire – Christopher Bidmead
Cicely – Beth Boyd
Gunnora, an old nurse – Phyllis Montefiore
Dame Potentia, a cook’s wife – Lynn Carson
Xit, a dwarf – Nigel Anthony
Northumberland, Lord Protector – Denis McCarthy
Princess Elizabeth – Rosalind Shanks
Queen Mary – Alexa Romanes
Lord Gardiner – Duncan McIntyre
Lord Courtenay – Douglas Hankin
Alexia, a crazed prisoner – Margaret Ford
Winchester – Rolf Lefebvre
Dean Feckenham – Geoffrey Wincott
Sir Thomas Wyatt – Garard Green
Mistress Ellen – Marjorie Westbury
Underhill – Haydn Jones
Mauger – John Holus
Other parts played by Diana Robson, Jan Edwards, Norma Griffin, Joyce Latham, Henry Webb, Norman Wynne and members of the BBC Drama Repertory Company
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 March-5 June 1968
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"
William Harrison Ainsworth (Author), Alexa Romanes, Christopher Bidmead, David March, Denis McCarthy, Duncan McIntyre, Francis de Wolff, Full Cast, Gudrun Ure, Malcolm Hayes, Nigel Anthony, Peter Williams, Ralph Truman (Narrator)
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