The Way It Is: The Complete BBC Radio 4 Comedy Series

Every episode of the spoof news show

By: Simon Evans, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Dave Lamb, Various

Narrated by: Simon Evans, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Dave Lamb, Chris Pavlo, Laura Shavin, Phil Cornwell, Fiona Allen, Full Cast

Set in a fictional newsroom full of hilarious personalities, this spoof series takes a satirical look at the news.

This topical news spoof show, The Way It Is, ran for five series on BBC Radio 4 between 1998 and 2001. Presented by fictional newsreaders Richard Richard (Simon Evans) and Lolly Swain (Tracy-Ann Oberman/Fiona Allen), listen to a cast of hilarious characters, including the hapless on-the-spot reporter James Gravadlax, who resorts to claiming there are 'scenes of terrible devastation' wherever he happens to be; royal watcher Quentin Rumpleteazer, who is fixated on Prince William; Jackie Trent, who is always posted outside 10 Downing Street no matter where the real story is; Finnish correspondent Pauli Hikillo, who invariably replies to any question about the latest trends in Finland by shivering and saying how cold it is there; mad scientist Dr Benjamin Hardstaff, who solves all problems using his trusty Sinclair ZX81 computer; and many more.