Conversations from a Long Marriage: based on the beloved BBC Radio 4 comedy starring Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam

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Gorgeous is what Lumley does, and gorgeous is what she loves, as she explains in the first episode. When she was young, she loved the piano and wanted to play. But she struggled with reading the notes, so lessons went no further. Still, she and her family listened to classical records, and she heard music, too, when doing dance classes in Malaya, specifically Offenbach’s Barcarolle: “I can hear it to this day.” When pop came along, “I liked gorgeous music, so I loved the Everly Brothers… Elvis had a beautiful voice.” Conversations from a Long Marriage is exactly that: following conversations that take them from the local café, to their kitchen table, taking in her resentment of new glasses - a symbol of ageing - and fury at being lectured by the dental hygienist. He has a dodgy knee and is on statins, and when they discuss the marriage break-up of their closest friends, Sally and Peter, there's jealousy and talk of affairs. She suggests there are advantages to single beds, separate holidays and wants to go clubbing in Ibiza for her imminent 'big' birthday. Conversations from a Long Marriage won the Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Best Radio Comedy in 2020. Also, nominated for a Writers Guild Award 2023.

Humourless boyfriends aside, she had a “lovely life” growing up in Kingston upon Thames. Her father, a wartime Lancaster bomber pilot, of whom she is tremendously proud, was from Swansea, so holidays were spent on the Gower Peninsula. Here she found an early comedy influence in her grandmother, a St John Ambulance volunteer at Langland Bay, where she had a beach hut. Oh, it’s all divine, delicious and lovely, including the music, and they are sweet company, though I was slightly brought up short when Barlow exclaimed: “I’m discovering so many things about you!”, in contrast to Lumley’s encouraging him to tell stories she clearly already knows. He’s been primed to excel throughout his life, while she has a tendency to put down her own knowledge, just to encourage him some more. “Stevie, this is what I wanted us to do in these shows,” she says. “Me being the average listener and you being the above-average musician, able to give answers.”Conversations from a Long Marriage is written by Jan Etherington, who has been married to Gavin Petrie for over 30 years. Second Thoughts , Faith In The Future and Next Of Kin. She says: “ Conversations From A Long Marriage will resonate with couples of any age but especially those who are still dancing in the kitchen, singing in the car and trying to keep the passion alive.” Talking to British Comedy Guide about the genesis of her latest show, Etherington explained further: “I wrote it for Joanna Lumley because she epitomises that ageless style and curiosity for living in the moment. Roger Allam is absolutely wonderful, one of the gods of radio and it was just magical to see them together, they are so in tune and they genuinely like each other.”

We join them as Joanna breathily compliments Roger - ‘How do you get it so perfect every time?’ His reply ‘Hot goose fat and regular tossing’ reveals that they are enjoying his signature roast potatoes. They’re spending a quiet Christmas with Peter and Sally but this snowballs into an extravagant houseparty when Peter is offered a rich friend’s country pile and invites other couples. Jan Etherington has also been busy compiling edited versions of eight scripts from the first two series of the comedy to form a new book. Set to be published on 3rd November by Souvenir Press, it's described as a publication that will "resonate with couples of any age - but especially those who are still dancing in the kitchen, singing in the car and trying to keep the passion alive", and "a perfect Christmas present for couples everywhere". This book gives me hope ... that life and marriage might permanently include taking the absolute piss while simultaneously dancing in the kitchen' EMMA FREUD Jan’s writing career began in her 20s. She was encouraged by a “wonderful” English teacher, her father’s own humour-filled writing - letters, and talks he was often asked to give - as well as schoolgirl banter with a close-knit group of friends who have stayed together throughout their adult lives. She married young, at 19, but as she became a busy freelance writer, found she and her husband were going in different directions, so they decided to part. The show follows their conversations that take them from the local café, to their kitchen table, taking in her resentment of new glasses - a symbol of ageing - and fury at being lectured by the dental hygienist. He has a dodgy knee and is on statins, and when they discuss the marriage break-up of their closest friends, Sally and Peter, there’s jealousy and talk of affairs. She suggests there are advantages to single beds, separate holidays and wants to go clubbing in Ibiza for her imminent ‘big’ birthday.Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam return in the fourth series of Jan Etherington’s award-winning comedy about a long-married couple in love with life and each other. An endearing portrait of exasperation, laced with hard won tolerance – and something like love.’ THE GUARDIAN Etherington has previously explained that she was motivated to create the comedy as she was "tired of my generation being portrayed as golfing caravanners with no reference to how they were in their youth. Can Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam ever have done anything better than Jan Etherington’s two hander? Sublimely funny, touching… This is a work of supreme craftsmanship.’ SIMON O’HAGAN, RADIO TIMES