The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

Saturday-Night Theatre: The Franchise Affair
Sat 2nd May 1970, 20:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM
Adapted by John Hyatt from the novel by
Josephine Tey

' They re the women who gave me the lift, the women who kept me here. And this is the house -I recognise it! ‘

Produced By Betty Davies
Roger Kane:…….Nicholas Edmett

Mrs Kane:……Margot Boyd
Betty Kane:……Jo Manning Wilson
Robert Blair:……John Justin
Marion Sharpe:……Madi Hedd
Insp Hallam:……Malcolm Hayes
Mrs Sharpe:……Grizelda Hervey
Nevil Blair:…..Frank Duncan
Mrs Blair:…….Dorothy Lane
Kevin McDermott:…….Denys Hawthorne
Shirley Glynn:…..Patricia Gallimore
The Judge:….James Thomason
Miles Allison, QC:…..Godfrey Kenton
Richard Chadwick:……..Kerry Vrancis

Robert Blair was about to knock off from a slow day at his law firm when the phone rang. It was Marion Sharpe on the line, a local woman of quiet disposition who lived with her mother at their decrepit country house, The Franchise. It appeared that she was in some serious trouble: Miss Sharpe and her mother were accused of brutally kidnapping a demure young woman named Betty Kane. Miss Kane's claims seemed highly unlikely, even to Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, until she described her prison -- the attic room with its cracked window, the kitchen, and the old trunks -- which sounded remarkably like The Franchise. Yet Marion Sharpe claimed the Kane girl had never been there, let alone been held captive for an entire month! Not believing Betty Kane's story, Solicitor Blair takes up the case and, in a dazzling feat of amateur detective work, solves the unbelievable mystery that stumped even Inspector Grant.

Marion Sharpe and her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet and ordinary, they have led a peaceful and unremarkable life at their country home, The Franchise. Unremarkable that is, until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep. Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap and abuse, she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept, right down to the crack in its round window. But there's something about Betty Kane's story that doesn't quite add up. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. It takes Robert Blair, solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair.

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