Twelve jurors. One verdict. Can the jury decide?

When high-profile company director Virginia Hart fights a libel case against journalist Pat Carver, twelve ordinary people find themselves navigating the complex and unfamiliar world of the civil court. A woman’s reputation is on the line, and they alone must decide whether the allegations made against her in the satirical magazine Shady Tales count as freedom of speech, or scurrilous defamation.

But it soon becomes clear to the jury members that the trial will have an impact on their own lives. From big-shot banker Tyrone to shy, illiterate Shane; chatty, overly helpful Carol; feisty fashion model Samantha and aspiring businesswoman Folosade, they are each dealing with their own issues – and they all bring their own flaws, fears, values and prejudices to the case.

The prosecution has barely made its opening statements before two of the jurors are at loggerheads, and tensions quickly begin to rise within the group. The lies, scandal and intrigue unfolding in the courtroom are mirrored in the jury room, and as the trial moves towards its climax, can the jurors work together to ensure justice prevails?

Written by acclaimed actor and dramatist Matthew Solon, whose radio credits include Takeover, The Bid and Five Days in May, this thrilling drama features a star cast including Bill Nighy, Maggie Steed, Patrick Robinson, Gary Olsen, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Bhasker Patel.

Production credits

Written by Matthew Solon

Directed by Andy Jordan and Jocelyn Boxall

Cast

Virginia Hart – Suzanne Bertish

Tyrone Spencer – Patrick Robinson

Gilly Baxter – Maggie Steed

Megan Evans – Rachel Atkins

Pat Carver – Bill Nighy

Michael Whitely – Gary Olsen

Dermot O'Connor – Denys Hawthorne

With Joseph Bennett, Philip Bretherton, Colin Bruce, Harry Ditson, Abi Eniola, Robert Hands, Jenny Howe, Kelly Hunter, Frances Jeater, Jonathan Keeble, Don McCorkindale, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Bhasker Patel, Dominic Power, Christopher Scott, Irene Sutcliffe, Badi Uzzaman, Geoffrey Whitehead

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 September-16 October 1998