King Street Junior is a radio comedy which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between March 1985 and November 1998. The show ran for ten series and the cast included Peter Davison, James Grout and Karl Howman. The series is written by Jim Eldridge. Research for the show was done at Newtown Road School in Carlisle. A continuation series aired in 2002 and was named King Street Junior Revisited. Episodes closed with a children's choir singing "See the Farmer Sow the Seed," a hymn written by Baptist minister Frederick Arthur Jackson (1867–1942).

Cast

Episodes

Series 1

Broadcast in 1985 All episodes written by Jim Eldridge

Series 2

Broadcast in 1987

Series 3

Broadcast in 1988. Peter Davison's character is no longer in the show, having taken a position at another school; from here on is Karl Howman as Philip Sims.

Series 4

Series 5

Broadcast in 1990

Series 6

Series 7

Broadcast in 1992

Series 8

Back after a few years in 1995

Series 9

Series 10

Broadcast in 1998

Broadcast History

For most of its run, it was broadcast in Radio 4's lunchtime comedy slot at 12.27, with later series moving to a morning broadcast. Repeats have also been aired on BBC Radio 7 and BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Critical reception

The series was described as follows: ""An unassuming Radio 4 institution, this character sitcom-cum-light drama serial followed the working lives of a group of teachers at a small junior school in a multiracial area, and came from the pen of Jim Eldridge, himself a former teacher.""

Multimedia

The ten series of the show are published by Penguin and available to purchase at Audible.

Book

Jim Eldridge, who created the show and wrote 87 episodes, also wrote a 2006 book, King Street Junior – The Inside Story, describing the history of the show including the behind-the-scenes conflicts.