Mark Tavener

Absolute Power creator dies

Mark Tavener, who created the hit Radio 4 and BBC2 satire Absolute Power, has died.

Absolute Power creator dies

Mark Tavener, who created the hit Radio 4 and BBC2 satire Absolute Power, has died.

The good news is that this ripper spoof of political PR is back on radio after its successful foray into television. The bad news is that this is the last time Mark Tavener's tales will grace radio. But then, that's what successful transitions to TV do for you. As before, Stephen Fry is Charles Prentice, a man so low he has to reach up to tickle a snake's belly, and John Bird (above, with Fry) is Martin McCabe, a representative of old-school PR, but no less venal for that. It is a testament to the power of spin that Prentice and McCabe can do the same job for new Labour as they did for the Tories - although they do feel uncomfortable about it.

Mark Tavener, having killed off his booze-sodden BBC crime correspondent George Cragge, now concentrates on Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe, minor characters in his comedy-thriller cycle In The Red. They have axed the Beeb's management so successfully that they now find themselves jobless and setting up as spin doctors. Absolute Power (11.30am, Radio 4) gives Stephen Fry and John Bird one or two nice one-liners - but nowhere near enough to sustain 30 minutes.