Bill Nighy stars as the lovably louche Charles Paris in these five BBC Radio dramatisations

Charles Paris - unsuccessful actor, bad husband, and dipsomaniac - is back, and getting into trouble once more. As he tries to woo back his semi-detached wife, Frances, and land a few half-decent roles, he finds himself embroiled in murder and mayhem and forced to turn detective. Luckily, his sleuthing is much better than his acting...

Murder in the Title - The thespian sleuth gets a part in a terrible play - but someone wants to kill off the cast. First a series of nasty accidents occur, then Charles is the victim of an attempted stabbing. Can he find the killer, or will he be fired first?

A Reconstructed Corpse - Charles is playing a missing businessman in a crime reconstruction programme. But when severed body parts begin to appear, he must piece together a macabre jigsaw puzzle of murder.

An Amateur Corpse - What starts as a simple voiceover job leads Charles to the discovery of a dead body. Could his old friend Hugo really be a murderer? All the signs are pointing that way...

Corporate Bodies - A corporate video turns into a horror movie when a secretary is killed. As he investigates, Charles uncovers blackmail, sexual intrigue and multiple motives for murder amongst the workforce.

A Decent Interval - Cast as The Ghost and First Gravedigger in Hamlet, Charles is finding rehearsals tense as both the lead roles are being played by reality TV stars. But soon it's not just Shakespeare's lines being murdered...

Written by Jeremy Front

Based on the novels by Simon Brett

Produced and directed by Sally Avens

Starring Bill Nighy as Charles Paris, Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice

Text copyright © Simon Brett 1978 (An Amateur Corpse), 1983 (Murder in the Title), 1991 (Corporate Bodies), 1993 (A Reconstructed Corpse), 2013 (A Decent Interval)