Abigail’s Party & Too Much of a Good Thing

Brenda Blethyn, Lesley Manville and Phil Davis star in this special Mike Leigh collection, featuring the iconic hit Abigail’s Party and a banned play from the BBC archives One of Britain's most prolific and influential writers, Mike Leigh has directed some of the best British films of the last 50 years, including Life is Sweet, Secrets & Lies and Vera Drake . He has written a plethora of plays for the BBC, among them the bleakly comic drama Abigail’s Party and the sharply observed Too Much of a Good Thing. Both plays feature here, along with a fascinating interview with Leigh, in which he explains his creative process and shares stories from his life. Abigail’s Party – Set in 1977, this dark comedy of manners revolves around Beverley, a suburban housewife attempting to throw a cocktail party. She’s invited all the neighbours, and the drinks are flowing freely – but as her guests loosen up, things start to become somewhat fraught… Brenda Blethyn stars as Beverley in this 1986 World Service adaptation of Mike Leigh’s caustic satire on middle-class respectability. Too Much of a Good Thing – Initially censored by Radio 3 for its sexual explicitness, this 1979 drama, specially written for radio and recorded on location in London, sees a driving instructor and his pupil tentatively embarking on an affair. Graham woos Pamela with trips to the Berni Inn and the local boating lake, but what will happen when she finally succumb to his advances? Starring Lesley Manville and Phil Davis . Calling the Shots: Mike Leigh – In this absorbing Radio 5 profile, the filmmaker and sometime dramatist tells us about his main aims: to depict real life and make his audience laugh and cry. We hear about his childhood passion fo rthe pictures, his early TV plays Hard Labour and Nuts in May , how he came to conceive Abigail’s Party , and his breakthrough pieces Grown-Ups and Meantime . NB: Contains scenes of a sexual nature Production credits Written by Mike Leigh All rights reserved Abigail’s Party Beverly Moss – Brenda Blethyn Laurence Moss – Tim Stern Tony Cooper – John Salthouse Angela Cooper – Teresa Streatfield Susan Lawson – Thelma Whitely Directed by David Hitchinson Technical presentation: Graham Harper First broadcast BBC World Service, 2 March 1986 Too Much of a Good Thing Mr Payne – Eric Allan Pamela – Lesley Manville Graham – Philip Davis Produced by Liane Aukin First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 July 1992 Calling the Shots With Mike Leigh Compiled by Paul Wells Produced by Ann Hines First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 23 July 1991 © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 2026