It's the 1980s and Brian Oldman is back in jail for a crime he didn't commit. He suspects, but cannot prove, that Joseph Oldman, now Joseph Olinska MP, was the perpetrator.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing the nexus of crime, business and politics woven through the fabric of 20th century greed as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

Cast:
Joseph Oldman/Olinska - Toby Jones
Brian - Joe Armstrong
Catherine - Isabella Urbanowicz
Tony Wednesday - Alec Newman
Sir Ralph Courtney - Nick Sampson
Margaret Courtney - Flora Montgomery
Margaret Thatcher - Steve Nallon
Warder Dewitt - Matthew Marsh
Tyrwhitt - Jonathan Tafler
Robert Gallo - William Meredith
John Binden - Charles Davies
Jose Picado - Will Harrison-Wallace

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4. Show less