Most Popular Radio Plays of 2022
Wireless listeners, you have voted with your time and attention! Are your favourite radio plays of 2022 in our most popular list? Did you discover the Wireless Theatre epic series The Springheel Saga this year, or fall in love with Daphne Du Maurier’s country home in Love for Menabilly? Or did you laugh at diminutive detective Drayton Trench, featuring the wonderful and sadly missed Stephen Critchlow? Maybe you enjoyed the 2022 releases of the Rum Runner Sue detective stories, or 1101 Wellington Way, where a new tenant with a nosy neighbour finds a burst pipe brings far more trouble than expected. If you’re looking for the most popular audio dramas of 2022, make sure you haven’t missed out on any of our listener favourites below. Enjoy our fantastic collection of Wireless Originals and top quality guest submissions… our top 22 most played audio dramas of 2022. Have a very happy new year!
Top audio plays of 2022
Springheel’d Jack – The Springheel Saga
Our epic three-series full-cast Wireless Originals Victorian thriller combines urban legend and science fiction, drawing thousands of new listeners each year. This award winner is still weathering the test of time at our number one spot for 2022!
Red Moon
The second most popular listen of 2022, featured on BBC Radio, this award winning six-part alternative history thriller follows ex-government agent Eddie Sloper as he tries to unravel a conspiracy with huge consequences for the world.
Night of the Orchid
In the number 3 spot is another perennial favourite; ghostly horror Night of the Orchid. Penned by fan favourite Marty Ross, exploring adult themes in the snowy highlands.
1101 Wellington Road
This beautifully executed short radio play is the most popular guest production of 2022. If you’ve ever wondered what your neighbours are up to, this drama is sure to spark your imagination.
Joe Walsh & The Weight of Despair
The second guest production to make our 2022 shortlist, Joe Walsh and the Weight of Despair explores the disturbed mind of a young man with a dangerous imagination.
A Friend in Me
A short and moving Wireless Originals audio drama. A young and lonely boy meets a new friend after an unhappy encounter with bullies.
Rum Runner Sue
Wireless Theatre featured various Icebox Radio Theater productions in 2022, including the first three episodes of the Rum Runner Sue series. Sue is a prohibition bar owner in 1920s small town America, and a seriously competent part time detective, enjoyed by many Wireless listeners this year.
The Autopsy
A Wireless Originals 3D horror guaranteed to make your skin crawl. Death is only the beginning of this thriller. Not for the squeamish, yet still hugely popular with Wireless Theatre listeners.
Love for Menabilly
This imaginative and moving drama from the mind of Jo Ann Challis charmed not only Wireless, but a huge number of listeners. History has recorded how much love Daphne Du Maurier had for her home, Menabilly. This poignant guest production imagines how Menabilly felt about Daphne.
The Passenger/The River
Beware! These two Wireless Original 3D Horror stories will have the power to stay with you for a long time after listening. For adult ears only.
Blood and Stone
Blood and Stone remained a popular listen in 2022. A 3D audio horror written by Marty Ross, this guest production still brings the chills.
Dead London
Wireless Theatre had the BEST fun making this Wireless Originals science fiction homage to War of the Worlds, and the resulting competition winning thriller found thousands of new listeners in 2022.
Skin – Parts I,II and III
A three part guest production to really make your skin crawl. A subtle psychological horror, following the exploits of a Dexter-esque serial killer out for her own particular brand of vengeance.
We Can All Dream, Can’t We?
A short and moving Wireless Original drama, of enduring popularity with listeners. A care home resident recounts happy memories of her life with her family, but is all as it seems?
Cake
Maggie Turner turns in an outstanding performance in this engaging Bennett-esque monologue. An interesting new job, a loyal dog, a long and happy marriage. Surely the perfect retirement?
Omega
This exciting four part Wireless Originals Police thriller has remained a solid fan favourite since launch. Elizabeth Parikh’s tale of a rookie cop investigating a shady elite organisation is full of twists and turns.
The Cask of Amontillado
This Edgar Allen Poe horror classic Wireless Original was recorded on location in a genuine stone vault to add chilling authenticity.
Drayton Trench
This Wireless Original 6 part audio comedy shares a creator with the equally fabulous Wooden Overcoats, so it’s not surprising that its popularity endures. David K Barnes, take a bow, alongside the fabulously talented cast and crew.
Delete
Nina Millns’s two-part Wireless Originals drama was an instant hit with listeners, and has continued to attract audiences in 2022. Adult language and themes make this most appropriate for an older audience.
We Are the BBC
Our Wireless Originals comedy play We Are the BBC, featuring national treasure Stephen Fry, has stayed firmly in our ‘most popular’ lists since the dawn of time. An oldy, but still a goody!
Windover: A Ghost Story
Windover is a beautifully atmospheric ghostly tale. A Wireless Originals drama, Windover will haunt you long after you hear it.
Over the Rainbow
The final guest production on our 2022 list, Over the Rainbow was originally created for Radio Romania, exploring the fate of the individual in an increasingly automated world.
