This is a new original story for the BBC Play series.
Adapted for radio by Richmal Crompton in collaboration with Alick Hayes.
Script published by David Schutte in William the Lionheart. ISBN: 978 0 9546802 6 8
Robert has yet another forever love, this time a gold digger, read on how convoluted things become as William helps out!
Diana Trent calls on the telephone, which is answered by William. Robert is out with 'Lulu', but manages to explain that Lulu is a motorbike (avoiding a similar situation as S01E10 - William Starts the New Year).
William then bothers Robert for some money as he is in possession of £6 (about £215 in today's money), however Robert actually offers to buy William the toy yacht rather than just lend him the money. He's feeling guilty for missing William's birthdays while he was in the army.
However, what William should have been doing is telling Robert that Diana is on the phone, which 15 minutes later Ethel rectifies, calling Diana 'precious Diana' - clearly no love lost there!
According to Ethel, Diana is a 'harpy', a derogatory ways of saying 'a mean, foul-tempered woman.'. However, it isn't just Diana she's unhappy with. It stems from Robert being engaged to Ethel's friend Joan two weeks ago, but treating her badly.
Robert asks Mrs Brown if Diana can come to tea, which is agreed to. This results in William having Ginger over to tea too, but with a less enthusiastic response as he eats too much! This is resolved with Ethel remembering that she won't be attending tea as she's meeting her friend Dolly.
William settles down to do his school prep work, but gets distracted and envisions himself driving the Royal Scot, a British train. His interruption from this reverie is the arrival of Ginger along with Violet Elizabeth.
After some time playing doctors, Hubert delivers Diana to the Brown residence (as she has been staying with the Lanes). There is a disagreement between the two lads as it seems Hubert duped William into paying over the odds for a 1920 penny! As Hubert runs, he encounters a policeman blocking his escape. He knows all about Hubert Lane, so William is safe from undue reprisals.
The policeman is there to see Mr Brown as he's selling tickets for the Police Concert. Mrs Brown being out, the policeman leaves vowing to return later that evening.
Eventually, the conversation between William and Diana, which is a long one as nobody has seen fit to inform Robert that Diana has arrived, turns to Robert's money. Diana feels that Robert must be rich, as Ginger has told her that Robert is going to be a yacht tomorrow. This interests Diana very much, she advises William if what he's saying is true that she'll be seeing a lot of Robert.
Mr and Mrs Brown return and there is a flurry of bills to be paid to callers. Mr Brown rushing in each time to get the money from Mrs Brown's bag, but is actually Diana's bag - they are identical. Robert happens to take care of Diana's bracelet when it falls off her wrist - and also her earrings for similar reasons.
Diana feels like she's being robbed in plain sight and calls the lot of them thieves before getting her things back and slapping Robert in the face. By this time the policeman has returned. Robert freshly slapped asks, partly to himself, 'What on earth did she slap my face for?', the policeman responds with, 'Oh, you never know with women, sir.'
I doubt we'll be seeing Diana again any time soon!
| Cast |
|---|
| William |
| Mr John Brown |
| Mrs Brown |
| Ethel |
| Robert |
| Ginger |
| Hubert Lane |
| Violet Elizabeth |
| Diana Trent |
| Policeman |
