Telos Publishing has announced the forthcoming release of Serial Thrillers: The Adventure Serial on British Radio by Charles Norton, due for released next month.
Following the end of World War Two, a new form of radio entertainment would explode across Britain – the adventure serial. Whether solving murders, foiling conspiracies or journeying into space, the heroes of these radio serials – Dick Barton, Paul Temple, Dan Dare and Jet Morgan – would be the idols of an entire generation of post-war radio listeners.
Once the most famous names in British fiction, broadcast on the BBC and Radio Luxembourg, today they are almost forgotten.
Serial Thrillers, with a cover by Dan Dare artist Martin Baines, features detailed episode guides and behind-the-scenes stories, recapturing the excitement of one of radio’s most addictive formats, for both fans of the era and those interested in audio drama to enjoy the exploits of its most daring adventurers.
Charles Norton has mostly worked as a writer, director and producer for the BBC since 2008. Between 2016 and 2020, he produced and directed a number of Doctor Who animated dramas for BBC Studios and BBC America, including “The Macra Terror”, for which he won a Royal Television Society Award. In 2023 he directed and produced the five-part series, Dad’s Army – The Missing Episodes for BBC Studios and UKTV. He has also produced numerous DVD and BluRay projects for BBC Studios, (Quatermass and the Pit, The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Likely Lads etc.) and has worked on a number of documentaries for the BBC’s Inside Outseries, as well as BBC Two and BBC Four.
He was the producer on a variety of titles for BBC Audiobooks between 2008 and 2015, including Dick Barton – Special Agent, Paul Temple, Sexton Blake and Hancock’s Half Hour. He is also the author of Now on the Big Screen, the unofficial, unauthorised guide to Doctor Who at the cinema, also published by Telos, and has written for The Guardian, The Times, BBC History Magazine, SFX Magazine, History Today, TV Zone, Starburst and Doctor Who Magazine.
His first novel, 1913, is due to be published by Northodox Press in 2026.
“If you were a British radio fan in the late 1940s through to the mid 50’s, as I was, this is the book for you,” enthuses Cliff Lamb, at Amazon. “It brings back memories of the Paul Temple, Dick Barton, Dan Dare and Journey Into Space radio serials. It describes behind the scenes background information as well as storylines and production details. A throroughly enjoyable read for British Old Time Radio fans.”
Serial Thrillers: The Adventure Serial on British Radio
by Charles Norton
Cover by Martin Baines
301pp | 6×9-format paperback | ISBN 978-1845832483
Published 27th June 2025
• Preorder Serial Thrillers: The Adventure Serial on British Radio here direct from Telos Publishing
Dan Dare Radio Features on downthetubes
• Spaceship Away! The Radio Luxembourg Dan Dare Radio Show
• Dan Dare Radio Luxembourg Episode Guide
• Dan Dare – Missing Radio Episode Surfaces
• Radio Luxembourg Dan Dare Radio Show Music Find
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Audio, Books, British Comics, Comics, Digital Media, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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Great subject! Great idea to do the book!