The Break. Image shows from L to R: Shobna Gulati, Fish Shop Frank (Mark Benton), Andy Chambers (Tom Palmer), Uncle Jeff (Philip Jackson), Rasmus Hardiker, Alison Steadman
The Break

The Break

  • Radio sitcom
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2016 - 2022
  • 24 episodes (4 series)

Radio 4 sitcom about a man who heads to the seaside for a break and stays with his uncle. Stars Philip Jackson, Tom Palmer, Alison Steadman, Mark Benton, James Northcote and more.

The Break - The Complete BBC Radio Comedy

Philip Jackson, Tom Palmer and Alison Steadman star in this BBC Radio sitcom set in the fictional Yorkshire seaside town of Flamford.

Welcome to Flamford, the town sanity forgot...

Edgy, sharp-tongued City burn-out Andy Chambers has been advised, for the sake of his health, to take a break from his stressful London lifestyle and get some rest. So he goes to stay with his estranged uncle, Jeff Whitaker, at his seaside home in Flamford - but, as he soon discovers, living with his relative is far from relaxing.

Good-natured and relentlessly cheerful, Jeff is determined to bring the recalcitrant Andy out of himself, so he leads him on an odyssey round town to meet the (somewhat eccentric) locals - including Jeff's on-off paramour, Pest Control Officer Corinne; Fish Shop Frank, who serves up saithe with a smile; loud, lovelorn Town Crier Peter Humfriss; chiselling pensioner Mr Truepenny and vicar-with-a-past, The Reverend Beverley.

As uncle and nephew embark on a series of comic, poignant adventures - from a quest for a proper roast dinner to a hunt for a poison-pen reviewer - can Jeff break down Andy's barriers, and persuade him to enjoy life, Flamford-style?

Created by Ian Brown and James Hendrie (My Family, Dial M For Pizza), this warm-hearted, quirky sitcom stars Tom Palmer and James Northcote as Andy and Philip Jackson as Jeff, with a stellar supporting cast including Alison Steadman, Mark Benton, Shobna Gulati and Rasmus Hardiker.

First released: Thursday 30th March 2023

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