''Baldi'' is a murder mystery series first broadcast on the UK radio station

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. The central character is Paolo Baldi (played by

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...

), a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

priest on sabbatical, lecturing on

semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

at a university in contemporary

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. After helping the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

as a translator for an Italian witness, he turns sleuth. Created by

Barry Devlin Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946) is an Irish musician, screen writer and director. Early life Devlin is from Moortown in Ardboe, County Tyrone. He initially began to train as a Columban priest, but left to study English at University Col ...

, it was produced by BBC Northern Ireland. Series 1 began broadcasting in 2000, while Series 5 concluded at the end of 2010.

Summary

Father Paolo Baldi (

) is a priest torn between his interest in investigation and detective work, and the secluded life of a priest. On sabbatical from the Franciscan Order, he takes up amateur

sleuth Sleuth may refer to: * Detective *Sleuth, collective noun for a group of bears Computing * The Sleuth Kit, a collection of forensic analysis software *SLEUTH assembler language for the UNIVAC 1107 Entertainment and media *Cloo Cloo (stylized ...

ing and befriends DI Tina Mahon (

Tina Kellegher Tina Kellegher (born 1967 in Cavan), is an Irish actress, best known for her work in film and television in the 1990s. She currently plays Ger Lynch in the RTÉ soap opera ''Fair City''. Early career Kellegher began in theatre, working in ...

for the first four series, then

Tara Flynn Tara Flynn is an Irish actress and writer. Career Flynn has written three satirical books: ''You're Grand: The Irishwoman's Secret Guide to Life'', ''Giving Out Yards: The Art of Complaint, Irish Style'' and ''Rage-In: Trolls and Tribulations of ...

), a member of the Gardaí. Both her superior, DS Rynne ( Owen Roe), and Baldi's

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divinity, divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters ...

, Father Troy ( T. P. McKenna), would prefer that he end his sabbatical and return to the Order. Father Baldi has an unfortunate knack of becoming involved in murder enquires, usually by his friendship with one of those involved. His gentle, reassuring behaviour and the Seal of the Confessional encourages participants to open up to him.

Broadcasting

Five series have been broadcast, totalling twenty-eight episodes. These have all been first aired in the 45 minute Afternoon Play slot, with frequent repeats of the series on BBC Radio 4 Extra. The regular cast included

, Owen Roe and T. P. McKenna. Guest appearances have included some of Ireland and the UK 's leading actors, including

Gerard McSorley Gerard McSorley (Irish: Gearóid Mac Somhairle; born 1 January 1950) is an Irish theatre, television and film actor. Early life He was born in the County Tyrone town of Omagh and, after attending a Christian Brothers school in his hometown, ...

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes Order of the British Empire, OBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV (TV network), IT ...

Stephen Mangan Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in '' Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postm ...

Margaret D'Arcy Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

Niall Buggy Niall is a male given name of Irish origin. The original meaning of the name is unknown, but popular modern sources have suggested that it means "champion" (derived from the Old Irish word ''niadh''),. According to John Ryan, Professor of Early an ...

Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is a Northern Irish actor, director and singer, known for his television and his theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film '' Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BA ...

, Michael Maloney,

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

Sorcha Cusack Sorcha Cusack (; born 9 April 1949) is an Irish television and stage actress. Her numerous television credits include playing the title role in ''Jane Eyre'' (1973), '' Casualty'' (1994–1997), ''Coronation Street'' (2008) and ''Father Brown'' ...

Geraldine James Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950) is an English film and television actress. Biography Early life and family James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to a cardiologist father and an alcoholic mother, who had been a nurse. She failed her ...

, Niall Toibin,

Barry McGovern Barry McGovern (born 1948) is an Irish stage, film and television actor. He was educated at Castleknock College, Dublin. Background McGovern is a former member of the RTÉ Players and the Abbey Theatre Company. He has worked in theatre, film, r ...

Nick Dunning Nick Dunning (born 1957 in London) is an English actor. He is a well known theatre actor who attended RADA (Dip Hons) 1977, where he won the Ronson Prize for Most Promising Young Actor. He has appeared on stage in the West End in London and a ...

, David Kelly, Stephen Moore,

Pauline McLynn Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish character actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted'', Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'', Tip Haddem in the BBC ...

Sara Kestelman Sara Kestelman (born 12 May 1944) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Lady Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey's mother, in the 1986 film '' Lady Jane'', as well as for providing the voice of Kreia in '' Star Wars Knights of the Old ...

Robert Bathurst Robert Guy Bathurst (born 22 February 1957) is an English actor. Bathurst was born in The Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. In 1959 his family moved to Ballybrack, Dublin, Ireland and Bath ...

, John Kavanagh, Mark Lambert and

Victoria Smurfit Victoria Smurfit (born 31 March 1974) is an Irish actress. She is known for playing Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series ''Ballykissangel'', Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural '' Trial & Retribution'' a ...

. The theme tune is by Sting, and is called "Saint Agnes and the Burning Train".BBC Baldi Forum – BBC Host Response to User Question
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Episodes

Technical crew

*Executive Producer – Sarah Lawson *Producer/Director – Lawrence Jackson, also Mark Lambert for some episodes *Writers have included: **

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett OBE FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. As an author, he is best known for his mystery s ...

**Bill Murphy **Andrew Martin **Martin Meenan **John Murphy **Francis Turnly

External links

BBC.co.uk programme page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldi (Radio) British radio dramas BBC Radio 4 programmes BBC Radio dramas Detective radio shows