Down the Line (radio series)

Down the Line

Cover of audio recording of Down the Line
Genre	Spoof phone-in show
Running time	30 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Home station	BBC Radio 4
TV adaptations	Bellamy's People
Hosted by	"Gary Bellamy" (Rhys Thomas)
Starring	Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson, Lucy Montgomery, Paul Whitehouse and Rhys Thomas
Written by	Charlie Higson, Paul Whitehouse
Edited by	Autograph Sound Recording
Produced by	Charlie Higson, Paul Whitehouse
Executive producer(s)	Lucy Armitage - Series 1 & 2
Air dates	2 May 2006 to 23 June 2013
No. of series	5
No. of episodes	27
Website	Down the Line homepage

Down the Line is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises populist radio phone-in shows. The show, hosted by "Gary Bellamy" (Rhys Thomas), is semi-improvised and is written and performed in a style of heightened realism.

Down the Line was first broadcast in May 2006. The pre-show publicity did not indicate that the show was a pre-recorded comedy, describing it as a live phone-in featuring "award winning" DJ Gary Bellamy, and led to many complaints from listeners who apparently failed to spot it was a spoof, generating considerable publicity for the programme. It was subsequently revealed that the show is written and performed by several familiar figures in British comedy, including Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.

Regular 'callers' include:

Recording for the third series commenced on Monday 12 November 2007 and transmission began on 10 January 2008.

A television spinoff on BBC Two was announced on 2 April 2009. in which Gary Bellamy goes to the streets of the UK to meet 'real' people and get their opinions on a wide range of topics. The series is entitled Bellamy's People and was inspired by "all the television series of ‘famous people exploring Britain' that have been made over the last few years". The series features improvisation by the cast.

A second series started on 16 January 2007 for another 6-week run until 20 February 2007. "Guests" this series include characters played by: Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Lucy Montgomery, Amelia Bullmore, Matt Lucas, Felix Dexter, Mark Gatiss, Catherine Tate, Arabella Weir, Robert Popper, Louis Vause, Simon Godley, Phoebe Higson, Sam Ward, Dave Cummings, and Fiona Whitehouse.