The Adventures of Tintin: BBC Radio Adaptations

By Roland Martin Last updated: 22 October 2026

Episode list and original broadcast dates

All were originally broadcast on BBC Radio 5 (mono; MW only) in 1992-3 and subsequently repeated on BBC Radio 4 (stereo?) in 1994.

The series

The BBC Radio adaptations were originally broadcast in 1992 and 1993. On the whole they are extremely enjoyable versions, generally very faithful to the original books.

Where they suffer somewhat is from some extreme editing on the one-episode stories, and perhaps a little padding on the longer ones. However, wonderful scripting and fantastic acting truly brings them to life.

The selection of episodes, perhaps superficially a little bizarre is clearly a mixture of widely known favourites and those stories which could easily be adapted for audio. A good illustration of this is the chase sequence in 'The Calculus Affair', which is pulled off beautifully, whilst in many ways 'Prisoners of the Sun' is too visual a story for an audio adaptation; this, however, is a brave attempt.

It is possibly also worth drawing comparison to the Nelvana TV adaptations of the same era. In many ways, these are much more mature adaptations, with considerably better voice work. Despite being aimed primarily at a youth audience, they retain Hergé's sense of humour, his intellect and his skillful use of cliffhangers to draw listeners in. They do, however, suffer from the considerable cross-referencing in the series of books, which can only be explained with such remarks as "I met him during the Blue Lotus affair".

Probably the highlight of the adaptations is Andrew Sachs' breathtaking performance as Snowy. Better known as Manuel from Fawlty Towers, in this he skilfully manoeuvres from narrator to light-hearted quipster whilst barely stopping to draw breath.

Also worthy of mention is Leo McKern's performance as Captain Haddock in the first series. Although Lionel Jeffries really tried in the second series, nothing could match the energy projected by McKern. His rousing speech as Sir Francis Haddock in 'Red Rackham's Treasure' is almost breathtaking.

If that wasn't enough, further British acting talents such as Stephen Moore (Calculus) and Miriam Margolyes (Castafiore in 'The Castafiore Emerald') truly flesh the cast out.

It is also worth noting that practically the entire cast, Richard Pearce included, appears in the two BBC Radio 'Doctor Who' stories produced in the early 1990s (both of which are poor in the extreme).

The first two series are widely available on cassette ('Six Adventures of Tintin' and 'Four Further Adventures of Tintin' respectively) but there is no release of the final episode at present.

Cast and crew

Series One

Producer

John Yorke

Adapted by

Simon Eastwood

Music

Roger Limb

Cast

• Tintin - Richard Pearce
• Snowy - Andrew Sachs
• Thomson & Thompson - Charles Kay
• Captain Haddock - Leo McKern (not in ep. 1)
• Calculus - Stephen Moore (not in ep. 1 or 2)

1. The Black Island

• Puschov - Nigel Carrington
• Ivan - Terrance Edmond
• Müller - Fraser Kerr
• Ranko - Peter Elliott

2. The Secret of the Unicorn

• Barnaby - Colin McFarlane
• George Bird - Neil Roberts
• Max Bird - Brett Usher
• Mr. Silk - Clarence Smith

3. Red Rackham's Treasure

• The parrot - Peter Elliott

4. Destination Moon

• Baron - Andrew Wincott
• Mr. Baxter - Stephen Thorne
• Announcer - Theresa Streatfield
• Passport Control - Clarence Smith

5. Explorers on the Moon

• Baron - Andrew Wincott
• Mr. Baxter - Stephen Thorne
• Colonel Jorgen - Colin McFarlane

6. Tintin in Tibet

• Tharkey - Neil Roberts
• Desert Lightning - Brett Usher
• Burning Fire - Eric Allen
• Chang - Paul Caughtney-Hugh
• Shining Light - John Church

Series Two

Producer

John Yorke

Adapted by

Simon Eastwood

Music

Roger Limb

Cast

• Tintin - Richard Pearce
• Snowy - Andrew Sachs
• Thomson & Thompson - Charles Kay
• Captain Haddock - Lionel Jeffries
• Calculus - Stephen Moore
• Nestor - Stephen Thorne (not eps. 1 or 2)

1. The Seven Crystal Balls

• Tarragon - Stephen Thorne
• Castafiore - Linda Polan
• Chiquito - Andrew Wincott

2. Prisoners of the Sun

• Chiquito - Andrew Wincott
• Huaskar - Stephen Thorne
• Zorrino - Neil Roberts

3. The Calculus Affair (Part 1)

• Taxi Driver - Steve Hodson
• Cutts - Charles Kay

4. The Calculus Affair (Part 2)

• Cutts - Charles Kay
• Castafiore - Linda Polan
• Irma - Melanie Hudson
• Bordurian Officer - John Fleming

5. The Red Sea Sharks (Part 1)

• Dawson - Nigel Carrington
• Abdullah - Cyril Jenkins
• Receptionist / Slave Leader - Akim Mogaji
• Rastapopulos - Stephen Thorne

6. The Red Sea Sharks (Part 2)

• Abdullah - Cyril Jenkins
• Rastapopulos - Stephen Thorne
• Pilot - Akim Mogaji
• Parker - David Holt
• Castafiore - Linda Polan
• Mull Pasha - Nigel Carrington

One-off Production

The Castafiore Emerald

Producer

John Yorke

Adapted by

Simon Eastwood

Music

Roger Limb

Cast

• Tintin - Richard Pearce
• Snowy - Andrew Sachs
• Thomson & Thompson - Charles Kay
• Captain Haddock - Lionel Jeffries
• Calculus - Stephen Moore
• Castafiore - Miriam Margolyes
• Nestor - Stephen Thorne
• Risotto - Paul Panting
• Irma - Oona Beeson

Comments

Tintin's voice was too... well... childish. His voice should have been deeper. I loved the tapes. The second series was better than the first, and when I got it, I thought series one was brilliant. Series two, in my opinion, is wonderful. The voices (apart from Tintin's) are really good, and fit the characters. Wonderful stuff—brilliant listening material in the car, in bed... anywhere, really!

Also, a little note: Richard Pearce, who voices Tintin in the cassettes, also voiced Dennis the Menace, an English comic character, in the TV series. [Richard Wainman 31/07/2001 04:10]

Credits

By Roland Martin. Additions and corrections by Richard Wainman.

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