High Cockalorum

Drama of the Week

BBC

Drama, Fiction

3.9 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Celebrating Bradford City of Culture and as part of BBC Contains Strong Language Festival, Bradford based writer Jeremy Dyson's original comedy drama set in West Yorkshire in 1978 is inspired by a true story.

High Cockalorum tells of a touching, funny and unlikely encounter between a Hollywood superstar and a humble lad from Leeds thrown together by circumstance.

A meditation on fame, success and what ultimately matters.

MARTY / JAMES MASON.....Mark Gatiss HARVEY/ LIBRARIAN / DJ..... Reece Shearsmith PETE/ PARKING ATTENDANT/ INTERVIEWER.....Steve Pemberton RECEPTIONISTS/ JACKIE..... Monica Dolan SHARON.....Goldie Crane.

Writer - Jeremy Dyson Director -Nadia Molinari Composer-Ian Masterson Sound Designer - Sharon Hughes Technical Producers - Andrew Garratt, Neva Missirian Production Co-ordinators - Victoria Moseley, Ben Hollands.

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	It's 1997 when the streets of a housing scheme erupt.
0:12.0	Angry scenes at the raplock estate in Sterling outside the house of a convicted paedophile.
0:17.0	At the heart of the crowd, Big Mags Haney, an anti-pedophile campaigner who made headlines.
0:23.0	She wasn't the only person who stood up.
0:25.6	She just happened to shout the loudest.
0:27.8	Dubbed the matriarch of a family from hell.
0:30.7	The amount of crimes committed by that family was stuff of legend.
0:34.5	I was so scared.
0:36.0	Crime next door, the ballad of Big Mags.
0:38.8	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:41.0	This is Drama of the Week.
0:44.8	Hi Cockerlora by Jeremy Dyson.
0:53.7	Here he is, there he is.
0:56.2	Polygram record second-file sales rep northern region.
0:59.4	Nice to see you too, Harve.
1:01.2	Susie, cackle on.
1:02.8	Let's see what stars of the recording world,
1:04.7	Firmament Marty's got to push on us this week.
1:07.0	What jewels in the popular musical crown
1:09.1	are you going to withdraw from that battered samples, KCOs? Harvey, I would never push anything on you you didn't want. I'm here to serve. This is all high-quality product. Spoken like a loyal company man. Hey, bag is he any freebies if you haven't been to HMV leads yet? Oh, I've got nothing. Oh, come on. There must be something lurking in there. Ooh, actually, I've got these. Barclay James Harvest slipmats for your turntable, like?
1:30.5	They're glow in the dark. lurking in there. Ooh, actually, I've got these.
	...

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