British Comedy Guide
Cold
Cold

Cold

  • Radio comedy drama
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2009
  • 1 episode

A Radio 4 Afternoon Play offering about the common cold, class warfare and Cliff Richard set in 1959 at the Common Cold Unit. Stars Paul Reynolds, Michael Fenton Stevens, Alex Tregear, Philip Fox, Melissa Advani and more.

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Press clippings

Tony Bagley's comedy is set in 1959 at the Common Cold Unit. It really existed, a unit of Nissen huts where volunteers took part, unpaid, in a 40-year experiment to determine the causes and obtain a cure for the common cold. The rules were strict. Bagley's characters get tangled up in them. Barry (Paul Reynolds) is a trade union official who's been coming there for years. When John, his roommate, is accused of breaking the rule on proximity, Barry takes on the establishment. Lillian (Alex Tregear), another outsider, admires Barry's stance. Cupid hovers.

Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph, 10th September 2009

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