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.
Sir Joseph Olinska Toby Jones
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
George Carmen/Tony Blair Nigel Cooke
Brian Perry/DAC Henderson Nicholas Murchie
Warder Peters/Judge Kelman Paul Kemp
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
Sir Ralph Courtney Nick Sampson
Margaret Courtney Flora Montgomery
Alex Murray/Inspector Vallins John Hastings
Nurse Moriarty/Reggie Kray Lucas Hare
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Pongo Damian Lynch
Sonia Hope/Rita Sarah Lambie
Julian Tyrwhitt Jonathan Tafler
Lord Carson Jamie Newall
Jack Braden John Hollingworth
Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4. Show less