It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska 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 a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s 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. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST

Toby Jones. Joseph Oldman/Olinska
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Catherine Isabella Urbanowicz
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
John Redvers Tom York
Sir Ralph Courtney Nick Sampson
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Brian Perry Nicholas Murchie
Jack Braden/Stranger John Hollingworth
Kevin Wheeler Lucas Hare
Peter Balladur Jamie Newall
Supervisor Kieron Jechinnis
Warder Peters/John Major Paul Kemp
Sonia Hope/Angela Sarah Lambie
John Redvers Tom York

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