The Magnificent O'Connors: 4. The Rise and Fall of Jimmy O'Connor
The fortunes of the O’Connors flip almost overnight. Nemone is no longer allowed to practice law, even after appealing to the highest authority, the Lord Chancellor. Meanwhile Jimmy’s confrontational style of writing attracts the attention of the BBC, landing him several prime-time TV plays. All the while Jimmy’s conviction is a constant shadow in their marriage. Meanwhile, in the present, the family continue to investigate the case. They uncover brand new documents that have never been seen before. Could these hold the key to getting Jimmy’s conviction overturned? Presenter: Ragnar O’Connor
Producer: Emily Esson, Victoria McArthur
Research: Elizabeth Ann Duffy, Louise Yeoman
Script Assistant and Additional Research: Marisha Currie
Script Writers: Emily Esson, Jack Kibble-White
Original Music: Lomond Campbell
Theme Music: Barry Jackson
Addition mixing and sound effects: Charlie McPhee, Kayleigh Raphel
Story Consultant: Jack Kibble-White
Script Editor: Graham Russell
Executive Editor: Gillian Wheelan
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4 Thanks to Cheryl Field, Richard Field and Kirsty Williams
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28:04
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28:04
The Magnificent O'Connors: 3. The Murderer and the Silk
Jimmy is saved from the hangman’s noose with just hours to spare. With his sentenced commuted to life in penal servitude, he sets out to pass the time by learning how to write dramas. After ten years of moving from prison to prison, he’s finally released. But freedom doesn’t cut it for Jimmy. He wants to clear his name. He still maintains that he didn’t kill Donk Ambridge, and he’s determined to show it.
He meets and woos the young Nemone Lethbridge, in a whirlwind romance that will have devastating effects for Nemone and the path she’s carved for herself. Meanwhile Ragnar enlists an expert in miscarriages of justice, Louise Shorter, to see what she thinks about the case and the potential for a new appeal. Presenter: Ragnar O’Connor
Producer: Emily Esson, Victoria McArthur
Research: Elizabeth Ann Duffy, Louise Yeoman
Script Assistant and Additional Research: Marisha Currie
Script Writers: Emily Esson, Jack Kibble-White
Original Music: Lomond Campbell
Theme Music: Barry Jackson
Addition mixing and sound effects: Charlie McPhee, Kayleigh Raphel
Story Consultant: Jack Kibble-White
Script Editor: Graham Russell
Executive Editor: Gillian Wheelan
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4 Archive: The Russell Harty Show, ITV, April 1976Thanks to Cheryl Field, Richard Field and Kirsty Williams
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29:08
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29:08
The Magnificent O'Connors: 2. The Murder of Donk Ambridge
Jimmy O’Connor was a small-time thief, making the most of the opportunities war torn London presented to him. How did he end up in a condemned cell at Pentonville? On the Easter weekend 1941, a man is murdered in a London suburb. The police have little evidence to go on, and the usual suspects are pulled in for questioning. Among them is 23-year-old Jimmy O’Connor. He’s eventually charged and tried for the crime, though he maintains his innocence. Sentenced to death, the outlook is bleak as Jimmy awaits his final appointment with hangman Albert Pierrepoint. Presenter: Ragnar O’Connor
Producer: Emily Esson, Victoria McArthur
Research: Elizabeth Ann Duffy, Louise Yeoman
Script Assistant and Additional Research: Marisha Currie
Script Writers: Emily Esson, Jack Kibble-White
Original Music: Lomond Campbell
Theme Music: Barry Jackson
Addition mixing and sound effects: Charlie McPhee, Kayleigh Raphel
Story Consultant: Jack Kibble-White
Script Editor: Graham Russell
Executive Editor: Gillian Wheelan
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4Archive: The Russell Harty Show, ITV, April 1976 Thanks to Cheryl Field, Richard Field and Kirsty Williams
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28:37
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28:37
The Magnificent O'Connors: 1. The Saturday Girl
In order to unspool a family saga that has lasted over 80 years, Ragnar heads back to where it all began. He starts with the story of his mum, Nemone Lethbridge. Her younger years were spent watching The Battle of Britain over the skies of Kent, and visiting the bunker where Hitler took his own life. This extraordinary childhood gave way to an extraordinary career as Nemone is one of the UK’s first female barristers. From defending the Kray Twins, to Winston Silcott, she’s made an incredible name for herself in her legal career. And yet it was a chance meeting in a London pub in 1958 that changed the course of her life forever.
Presenter: Ragnar O’Connor
Producer: Emily Esson, Victoria McArthur
Research: Elizabeth Ann Duffy, Louise Yeoman
Script Assistant and Additional Research: Marisha Currie
Script Writers: Emily Esson, Jack Kibble-White
Original Music: Lomond Campbell
Theme Music: Barry Jackson
Addition mixing and sound effects: Charlie McPhee, Kayleigh Raphel
Story Consultant: Jack Kibble-White
Script Editor: Graham Russell
Executive Editor: Gillian Wheelan
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4 Archive: The Russell Harty Show, ITV, April 1976Thanks to Cheryl Field, Richard Field and Kirsty Williams
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28:49
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28:49
The Magnificent O'Connors: Trailer
For 80 years, the O'Connors have battled what they believe to be a miscarriage of justice. Small time criminal Jimmy O'Connor was arrested for the murder of 'Donk' Ambridge and narrowly escaped the noose. Fast-forward 25 years and Jimmy is living a wonderful life on the Greek island of Mykonos. Now a sought after TV scriptwriter, he rubs shoulders with The Rolling Stones and Jackie Onassis and entertains the great and the good with his wife Nemone Lethbridge, one of the UK's first female barristers who defended the Kray twins. Yet the shadow of his conviction looms large over them both. His son, Ragnar O'Connor, along with his brother Milo and their 93-year-old mother are intent upon trying one last time to finally get to the truth.
Small time criminal Jimmy O'Connor was arrested for the murder of 'Donk' Ambridge and narrowly escaped the noose.Fast-forward 25 years and Jimmy is living a wonderful life on the Greek island of Mykonos. Now a sought after TV scriptwriter, he rubs shoulders with The Rolling Stones and Jackie Onassis and entertains the great and the good with his wife Nemone Lethbridge, one of the UK's first female barristers who defended the Kray twins.Yet the shadow of his conviction looms large over them both. His son, Ragnar O'Connor, along with his brother Milo and their 93-year-old mother are intent upon trying one last time to finally get to the truth.