The 20 Greatest Characters from Radio 4

As a part of Radio 4’s Character Invasion on Saturday we’ve selected a cast of the most memorable characters that BBC Radio 4 has created over the last twenty or so years for you to enjoy. 

Some of the characters are beloved - Lynda Snell from The Archers - some reviled – Brian Aldridge also from Ambridge – some are part of the nation’s furniture like Adrian Mole or Arthur Dent from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Some still making their mark like Darleen Fyles or William Palmer in Pilgrim. Some are dead - Damian Lewis’ openly gay Tory Prime Minister in Number 10, and alas William and Sandy (played by Stanley Baxter and the late great Richard Briers) in Two Pipe Problems are no longer with us.  

Some, like Eddie Grundy have been with us for decades, some, like Spoonface Steinberg, have only made one brief but impactful outing. 

All of them are wonders to behold, a perfect cocktail of the beautifully written and the beautifully played, the combination which makes characters in drama so beguiling, and all of them are memorable and worth re visiting.

So why not come to a Lights Down, Listen session at  the BBC in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol , Cardiff, Glasgow, London and Salford to experience these wonderful characters in the places in which they came to life? 

But if you can't make it to one of our sessions be sure to listen to Radio 4 on Saturday where we'll have Big Bird on Tweet of the Day, character creator extraordinaire Paul Whitehouse on Saturday Live and many more character themed treats...

Is someone missing off the list? Don't agree with any of our choices? Let us know on Twitter using the hashtag #characterinvasion