Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,10 Aug 2017,44 mins

Redacted by Hugh Costello

Drama on 4

Available for over a year

Twice a year, thousands of confidential state files are released to the press and public - files that detail the workings of the British government of 30 years ago. If you want to know how Margaret Thatcher reacted to Islamic terror in Lebanon or how the Cabinet responded to the AIDS crisis then these are the documents you're waiting for. But some of those files will be disfigured by a black marker pen - they'll be Redacted. Secrets too sensitive, even thirty years on, will remain in the shadows. Jonathan is a 'sensitivity reviewer', the senior civil servant with the marker pen. It's normally a pretty dreary job, but just occasionally a long-forgotten document sparks his interest. When Jonathan spots his wife's name at the bottom of an urgent memo to the Prime Minister, it lands him with the toughest moral dilemma of his life. Starring Greta Scacchi and Nicholas Murchie. Written by Hugh Costello. Monica ...... Greta Scacchi Jonathan ...... Nicholas Murchie Fiona ...... Lauren O'Neil Shofi ...... Ashley Kumar Kitty ...... Alice Kerrigan Justin ...... John Dougall Derek ...... Christian Patterson Lucas ...... David Reakes Director: Alasdair Cross First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017.

Programme Website
More episodes