Lynne Truss

The BBC Radio 4 series that inspired the bestselling book Eats, Shoots & Leaves The runaway success of Eats, Shoots & Leaves brought millions of grammar geeks out of the closet and made it cool to care about punctuation. This is the radio series that started it all: five programmes in which Lynne Truss explores changing fashions in punctuation. She accompanies the founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society through Berwick Street Market on a hunt for the 'greengrocer's apostrophe', enters the classroom to hear how children learn punctuation, and finds out whether anyone punctuates text messages.

Talking to writers and experts like Fay Weldon and David Crystal, she discovers the origins of the comma in Greek drama and Gregorian chant, considers the case for 'semi-colonic irrigation' and asks how a writer's choice of punctuation expresses his tone of voice.Looking into the future, she wonders if 'emoticons' will put colons, commas and apostrophes on the endangered species list. Impassioned, informative and always amusing, this is an essential listen for anyone who loves language.

Lynne Truss spent four years as sports writer for The Times and here she gives us a perceptive and very funny insight on being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated world.

26 short stories about the eccentric inhabitants of Meridian Cliffs, a small, wind-battered town on England's South Coast

'Very few writers read their own work well on the radio, but Truss is an exception. Her voice and timing suit the material perfectly' The Lady

Welcome to Meridian Cliffs. Located at exactly 0 degrees 0 minutes west, and 0 degrees 0 minutes east, it's where the Greenwich Meridian meets the Channel, and time stands poised at absolute zero. But due to ever-increasing coastal erosion, it's getting smaller every day...

The residents of this curious town are easy to identify from their habit of shouting to be heard against the wind even when they're indoors. There's Sarah Birkett, granddaughter of the town's founder, who longs for a small improvement to her life, retired driving instructor Terry and his rescue dog Thelonius (the team mascot of Meridian Cliffs FC); carpet supremo Hugh Velvey, whose business and life are destroyed by arson and murder, and Ravi, whose curry house is the scene of a dramatic confession - and some unsettling news.

All are harbouring secrets, desires and dreams, and over the course of four series, we hear about their thwarted ambitions, hidden passions and forlorn hopes - and eavesdrop on a few typically sticky British moments. Beautifully observed, gently comic and often moving, these sublime short stories are written and read by Lynne Truss.

Production credits
Written and read by Lynne Truss
Directed by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, May 2016-April 2019

Series 1
There's No Need to Shout
Free Parking
Gimme Shelter

Series 2
In Your Dreams
Pavlovian
The Shortest Way Home
Houseroom
The Limit
Accept No Substitute
Mrs Manville Disposes
In Cold(ish) Blood
Darren Springs Forward
In the Dark

Series 3
Consequences
You Never Said
The West Wing
Tristan da Cunha
Waiting for JB
Weemails
Protective Colouring
Speed Kills
A Weight off His Mind
The Day the Earth Moved Slightly

Series 4
Taking It In
Celebration
Braking Distance