3. 'Can I Tempt You With a Fondant Fancy, Miss Bessemer...?'

Available for 267 days

As the men in suits start to play dirty, Miss Bessemer discovers that pride goes before a fall. Serial - written by Roy Apps - inspired by the true story of one woman’s fight to halt the closure of her local railway. Starring Penelope Keith. Village Guide Captain Madge Bessemer is not a particular fan of railways. Who needs trains when you’ve got a 1948 Austin Princess to tootle around in? However, when she discovers that, as part of their closure plans, British Rail are going to auction off the line side footpath, which holds precious memories for her, she determines to put a stop to proceedings. Supported by The Lewes and East Grinstead Railway Fighting Committee - two Girl Guides, two train spotters, one pigswill man and a dog - Madge takes her battle right to the heart of government. But the Prime Minster has just been humiliated by Colonel Nasser and has no intention of suffering a further humiliation at the hands of a village Girl Guide leader. John Profumo, Under Secretary of State to the Minister of Transport and a rising star in the government, is tasked with seeing that Miss Bessemer’s plans are consigned to the dustbin of history. All seems lost but, as Madge gains strength from the ghosts of her past, an unlikely idea for a railway of the future takes shape. Everyone loves a fighter and Madge becomes a national hero. She finds herself midwife not just to the birth of the world’s first preserved standard gauge passenger railway – the Bluebell Line – but also to the UK’s multi-million pound heritage railway industry. Sound Design: Matt Bainbridge Director: Celia de Wolff A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2021.