Ed Reardon's Week


Ed Reardon's Week is a sitcom on BBC Radio 4 recorded semi-naturalistically in the style of a radio drama. It concerns the story of a curmudgeonly middle-aged writer described in the show's publicity material as an "author, pipesmoker, consummate fare-dodger and master of the abusive email". The names of two central characters, Ed Reardon and Jaz Milvane, are references to the characters Edwin Reardon and Jasper Milvain, who appear in George Gissing's 1891 novel New Grub Street, which is set in the hack-literary London of the late 19th century, although Edward was revealed to be Ed's given name in the second episode of the third series and Milvain is referred to as Jaz Milvane.
Ed lives in precarious circumstances with his cat, Elgar, scraping a living as a hack writer by working through commissions for coffee table books such as The Brands Hatch Story and Pet Peeves, a book of celebrity pet anecdotes. Much of this work comes through his agent Felix, who Ed believes still owes him royalties, and Felix's assistant Ping – shortened from Pandora Ingleby-Thomas – an archetypal Sloane Ranger who rejects the amorous advances he makes occasionally in early episodes. The character of Felix was written out in Series 7 as John Fortune died in 2013.
He makes a small income from running a creative writing course at the local night school, where his lessons frequently mention the single episode of Tenko that he wrote. Ed also earns an occasional £10 fee for taking part in identity parades at his local police station. He is an alumnus of Shrewsbury School. The programme contains many references to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, where Ed lives.
The theme music is a dixieland version of "Am I Blue?" It was recorded at the 606 Club in London, and performed by session musicians present.
The series is written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds, and produced by Simon Nicholls and Dawn Ellis. From series 16, the writer is Christopher Douglas.

Origins of the character of Ed

Speaking on Pick of the Week
Christopher Douglas explained where Ed's character came from: "Simon Gray's published diaries were mainly about how badly treated he'd been by producers, actors, critics and electronic machinery. His impotent rage against his employers was one of the inspirations for Ed Reardon, the character I co-write, perform and in some ways resemble. Ed often rants from the point of view of appalled gentleman author, but he can also play the thwarted radical."

Ed's literary background

Ed considers himself a serious writer but there is little evidence to support his view of himself. His only novel, Who Would Fardels Bear?, was published in the 1970s, and was adapted into a film by Ed's friend, Jaz Milvane. Because the setting was moved from Oldham to California and the lead role was taken by Sally Field, the film's faithfulness to the novel is in doubt. Milvane is a successful British Hollywood film director in the mould of Tony Scott or Adrian Lyne. Ed's only other screen credit is a 1982 episode of the BBC wartime drama, Tenko and, based on the evidence provided in the drama so far, this may well be his only other non-coffee table book project. During his early career, Ed also wrote various stage plays, all of which seem to have been both unfortunately timed and titled, bearing striking resemblances to works by Willy Russell and Mike Leigh. An early amateur film made with Jaz Milvane, "The 4th Sausage", is the focus of Episode 6, Series 11.

Ed's books

Who Would Fardels Bear?Came She With Fantastic Garlands ''''Jane Seymour's Household HintsThe Brands Hatch Story34 At The Last Count – the unofficial Prime Suspect bookPet Peeves Nigel Mansell's Love PoetryPet Peeves 2Postal Panoply Shed 22lb in a Week the Vanessa Feltz WayArmando Iannucci's Carpathian WalksJohn Kettley's Big Book of WeatherKevin Pietersen's Big BBQ BookA Taste of Paraquat, The Reigate Poisoner AutobiographyThe Stig's big book of Speed Cameras It's Been Emotional It's Been a Roller Coaster Modernists Roadtrip, Antiques, and the story of discovery, potholes and loss

Ed's radio work

The Amazing True Story Of The South Tring BubbleThe South Tring Bubble
  • ''Cheese Cricket''

Ed's stage work

Educating Peter Stanley Valentine Blood Sisters Alistair's Party The Mouserap musical

Ed's TV work

Tenko

Ed's family

Ed has a son and a daughter, Jake and Eli, who make occasional appearances. An insight into Ed as a father is given in "The Operation", where Jake complains: "that's all we ever got from you... a sarcastic one-liner followed by a 'now leave me alone to sink into a drunken stupor of self-loathing.'"
Ed's father, Sidney, made an appearance in the episode "Dad". Appearing just as bad-tempered and impatient as Ed, Sidney demonstrated more understanding of popular culture by being familiar with the children's television programme Dick and Dom in da Bungalow. He emigrated to Australia for tax reasons with a new partner, following Ed's failed attempt to secure his inheritance.

Ed's current life

Ed taught a screenwriting class from Series 1 to 15, held weekly at the local sports centre, although this ended when the students all realised their assets and emigrated. This adult education group spent a lot of time giving him advice and making comments about his general lack of achievement, between complaints about being forced to watch his Tenko episode endlessly. Ed also played in a Dixieland jazz band called The Bayou Boys with his more successful friends, his instrument of choice being the jug. In the first episode, Jaz sits in with them on trumpet, making Ed's contribution seem anaemic by comparison.
Ed has lived in a one-bedroom flat with his cat Elgar in Berkhamsted, in the borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, ever since he sold his London home after a messy divorce. This is described as "living at the cutting edge, or to be more accurate, "above The Cutting Edge", as he has a flat over a hairdressing salon of this name."
Ed was seen heading into surgery for coronary bypass at the end of the second series, with Felix on the one hand, abetted by Jaz, pushing him to start on a new novel for Jaz to film while Ping is urging him to commit to Pet Peeves 2, the fee for which will be needed to pay his hospital bill.
At the end of the first series, a blossoming romance with a young woman of similar temperament was cruelly dashed by her allergy to cats, dander from which could be found in Ed's beard. At the end of the fourth series Ed became involved with the popular novelist Mary Potter, spending several nights a week with her by the start of the fifth series, though by the end of the seventh series he had rekindled an old romance with Fiona. By Series 12 his romantic focus had moved to his agency colleague, Maggie.

Humour

Much humour comes from Ed's rants and inability to stop himself from getting carried away in his angry tirades, often triggered by learning that somebody younger than him is proving more successful. Underlying this however, are observations of the injustices and stupidities of modern life.

Writers

Ed Reardon is played by actor Christopher Douglas, who also co-wrote the series with Andrew Nickolds.
A spin-off book was published in November 2005.

Awards

Ed Reardon's Week has twice been voted Best Radio Programme by the Broadcasting Press Guild, at their 32nd Annual Television and Radio Awards in 2006 and at the 37th in 2011.

Critical reaction

Gillian Reynolds, writing for The Daily Telegraph, called Reardon a "sublime creation" who was becoming "a national treasure" in 2012, and in 2016 complimented Douglas's "sublime performance" that makes Ed Reardon the "supreme social commentator on our times". The Independent also praised it, saying it "crackled with great lines, without any of that telegraphing you get too often in Radio 4 comedy". Miranda Sawyer in The Guardian found Reardon brilliantly observed, but more annoying than funny.

Stage version

Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds have written a stage version, Ed Reardon: A Writer's Burden, which played at the Pleasance Courtyard during the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was directed by Adrian Lloyd-James.

Episode list

Series 1 was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January and February 2005. Series 2 ran from December 2005 until January 2006, Series 3 from 15 December 2006 to 19 January 2007 and Series 4 from November 2007 to December 2007. Series 5 began weekly transmission on Radio 4 on Monday 6 October 2008 at 11:30am. Each episode is available as streaming audio over the internet, through the BBC's Listen Again service, for 30 days after broadcast.
Series 1 was repeated in August–September 2007 on BBC 7. Series 12 started airing on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017, and the latest began airing on Monday 30 June 2025.
Episodes are available on BBC Sounds website.

An Audience with Ed Reardon

EpisodeTitleOriginal Airdate
1An Audience with Ed Reardon20 October 2010Before a privileged audience at the Edinburgh Festival, Ed presents extracts from some of his favourite works.

Ed Reardon's Christmas Week

EpisodeTitleOriginal AirdateStory
1Ed Reardon's Christmas Week: It started in August25 December 2012All is not well in Ed's relationship, so he faces spending Christmas alone with just Elgar for company.

Series 14

Series 15

Dedicated to co-writer Andrew Nickolds, who died mid-way through writing this series.
EpisodeTitleOriginal AirdateStory
1The Storyteller13 July 2023Ed is alone following the death of Elgar. Can looking after a cat for new student Winnie help him heal?
2Pallet Wood Inspirations20 July 2023Maggie introduces Ed to the world of pallet wood.
3The Bromance27 July 2023Ed meets a fan and new friend, Derek, at the pool, despite Ping's warnings and Jake's discouragement. Guest Starring Robert Powell as Derek.
4Ed In Paris3 August 2023Ed heads for Paris, while Jaz is letting everyone know that he is heading to The Lords.
5Ed Reardon Is On Fire!10 August 2023It’s been sixteen weeks and four days now since the death of Elgar and Ed needs a distraction.
6The Mousetrap17 August 2023Ed has resorted to DIY pest control now that Elgar & the downstairs cat have both ceased all activities. Meanwhile, opportunities for independent production beckon...

Series 16

EpisodeTitleOriginal AirdateStory
1A Crumbling Ediface30 June 2025Ed seeks a new source of income to replace the one he’s lost from his writing class, now cancelled after all the third age students’ property wealth became so vast they all relocated to Dubai. Never one to be defeated, Ed applies for an ostler's job at The Countrywoman magazine and clears his storage cupboard to illegally sub-let it as an ‘opportunity for boutique capsule living’. He may be lucky and get a human being to live there – or maybe an actor.
2A Pigeon In Sainsbury's07 July 2025Ed rediscovers an old radio play, becomes involved in a battle re-enactment society and faces the very serious decision of finding a name for his new life partner - the offspring of Elgar. Guest Starring Stephen Mangan as Stephen Mangan.
3'Gen Ed'14 July 2025Ed throws himself into his new role as Theatre Critic for ‘The Countrywoman’. Guest Starring Robert Powell as Sir Peter.
4Artificial Asininity21 July 2025Ed rages against the world of artificial intelligence when he takes on a show with Jaz Milvain.
5For the Sake of the Planet28 July 2025Ed is offered a role as ‘Writer in Residence’ - but is he on the wrong side of the fence?
6Blocked!04 August 2025Ed has finally decided that enough is enough and has decided to stop writing. For good. Unless Zadie Smith can convince him otherwise.

Cast list