Natter from the Natural World: A BBC Radio Comedy Collection

Three series of funny natural history tales from Lynne Truss, featuring a star cast of narrators

Recorded in front of a live audience, these wry, funny tales introduce us to the varied creatures who make their homes on the shoreline, in garden ponds and in our attics. In 18 comic monologues, they reveal the truth about what life is really like in their respective habitats - and it's much more eventful than you might think...

Tidal Tales from the Rock Pool features salty stories from a roving, joke-loving Periwinkle (Bill Wallis); a house-proud Hermit Crab (Geoffrey Palmer); a figure-conscious Sea Anemone (Alison Steadman); a tough talkin' Goby Fish (Sean Power); a poetic, love-struck Limpet (Samantha Bond) and a diligent Lugworm (Tony Robinson).

In Gossip from the Garden Pond, we peek between the lily pads to meet a Tadpole who loves wiggling and doesn't want to grow up (Julian Rhind-Tutt); a beautiful, highly-sexed Dragonfly (Alison Steadman); a hotly pursued Water Boatman (Sandi Toksvig); a ferocious Great Diving Beetle (David Ryall); a timid, arachnophobic Garden Spider (Amanda Root) and a self-righteous Great Pond Snail (James Fleet).

And in Rumblings from the Rafters, we venture into the draughty attic of a rambling old house in Amersham to hear from a subversive, head-banging Death Watch Beetle (Bill Paterson); a bossy, stressed Queen Wasp (Alison Steadman); a fast-thinking, acrobatic House Fly (Lee Mack); a big-hearted Soprano Pipistrelle Bat (Pam Ferris); an Edible Dormouse who's convinced he's a Russian spy (Hugh Dennis) and a Peacock Butterfly with a feisty past (Amanda Abbington).

Written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with wildlife soundscapes by Chris Watson, these hugely entertaining, surprisingly informative anthropomorphic tales teem with drama and adventure - you'll never look at a rock pool, pond or roof space in the same way again...

Written and introduced by Lynne Truss
Produced by Sarah Blunt
Sound design by Chris Watson

Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool
The Periwinkle and the Hermit Crab
The Anemone and the Goby Fish
The Limpet and the Lugworm

Gossip from the Garden Pond
The Tadpole and the Dragonfly
The Water Boatman and Great Diving Beetle
The Garden Spider and Great Pond Snail

Rumblings from the Rafters
Death Watch Beetle and Queen Wasp
House Fly and Soprano Pipistrelle Bat
Edible Dormouse and Peacock Butterfly

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 1-15 May 2012 (Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool), 7-21 Sept 2014 (Gossip from the Garden Pond), 26 June-10 July 2016 (Rumblings from the Rafters)

© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd