Bettie's Books

Narrated by Ross Kemp

BBC BLURB: A new long-running drama series from G F Newman based on the characters from the multi-award winning writer's best-selling crime novel. Spanning six decades, it plots the course of one family against the backdrop of a revolution in crime as the underworld extends its influence to the very heart of the establishment, in an uncomfortable relationship of shared values.

Joey Oldman is a Russian Jew, who arrived in Britain before the war with only two words of English and married Cathy Braden. They had a son, Brian, and a daughter, Rose. Cathy's widowed mother, Gracie, takes up with a famous and glamorous gangster, Billy Hill, while her brother Jack wants to become World Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion. Both the army and the Kray twins interfere with this ambition. Jack is left feeling bitter and angry and plunges headlong into crime, running protection rackets and claiming a piece of other criminals' sometimes infamous pies. His actions become ever more savage and bizarre and harder to reconcile.

Haunted by the murder of his grandfather which he witnessed when he was six, Brian Oldman holds a terrible secret that he must keep for fear of his life as he falls deeper under his mother's spell. But there is a more disturbing secret he has yet to discover - one that will threaten his very existence. All the while he becomes a willing participant in the criminal underworld in the 1950s, where gangs such as the Krays and the Richardson are emerging to challenge the old guard in savage battles for territory.

Written by G F Newman Produced and directed by Clive Brill

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.

1. 1951, and as London celebrates the Festival of Britain, a young boy witnesses a murder that will scar him for life and have lasting consequences that affect his whole family.

2. Jack continues to dodge his call-up in order to further his boxing career, while Joey is desperate to start his own business. But where will he get the money from?

3. Jack is reluctant to leave the house after being attacked by the Krays, but Billy Hill has other plans for him. Revenge is on the cards, while Brian gets his first taste of crime.

4. Jack is riding high with his first taste of crime, but things go wrong when his mother falls ill. Meanwhile, Joey gets an intriguing call from the Inland Revenue.

5. Jack is finally forced into completing national service, but he refuses to box for his regiment. When he hears that his mother is ill, he is forced to think of a means of escape.

6. While working in a shoe shop, Brian meets the MP Tom Driberg and embarks on a new course in life. Joey visits Jack's casino and realises there are new ways to make money.

7. Joey is determined to find a way for Brian to avoid National Service and, at the same time, increases his business dealings with Sammy - with disastrous consequences.

8. Joey starts investing in property in rundown Notting Hill Gate but, in doing so, puts the Kray Brothers' noses out of joint. Who will win in the property wars?

9. Brian has been seriously hurt in gangland warfare. After his return from hospital, he feels sure the family has been making plans without him.

10. Brian and Jack harbour rival feelings for Leah, while Joey makes bigger deals to secure his future. Brian continues to move in ever more influential circles.



Joey Oldman Toby Jones
Cath Oldman Denise Gough
Brian Oldman Rory McMenamin
Jack Braden Tom Weston-Jones
Gracie Braden Ruth Gemmell
Billy Hill Robert Glenister
Bobby Brown Charlie Davies
PC Watling Nigel Cooke
Win Booker Lotte Rice
Frank Cockain Michael Eaves
Tiger Braden Michael Eaves

"Ron and Reg will come round and sort you out!"

Diana Dors

Ruth Ellis comes in to play in episode 3

10 Rillington Place

The Richardsons, known as the Torture Gang, were rivals to the Kray Twins

The Coronation that brought the country to a halt.

Bill Haley arrived in UK sensibilities at the same time as Billy Graham.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: GF Newman: double-BAFTA award-winner and expert on the darker side of human nature created the Radio 4 dramas, GF Newman's The Corrupted based on the characters from his epic novel Crime and Punishment, a fictional history of crime.

He is the creator and producer of the BBC1 television dramas Judge John Deed; New Street Law and Law and Order.

His writing has been tilting at institutions and challenging the status quo for the past 30 odd years. In his latest novel, Dark Heart, (published on November 4th 2013) he takes on the Catholic Church, Big Oil and sexual obsession when following a series of savage and bizarre killings both in Nigeria and back in the UK, when a Jesuit priest, Jake Mann, discovers a talent for exorcism.