Ed's note: On Saturday afternoon this new version of The Wind in the Willows was broadcast on Radio 4. You can hear it on Radio iPlayer for the next five days. Here the project's production coordinator Selina Ream describes the process once they got into the BBC studios at Maida Vale a few days before Christmas.

Toad stared fixedly in the direction of the disappearing motor-car...

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC singers play music composed by Neil Brand

The two Doctors: Sylvester McCoy and David Tennant

Orwell and a group of writers and critics (see below for details)

The steps to Whitby Abbey

Ed’s note: We’ve featured the radio drama Soundstart scheme on the blogs before. For those who don’t know the scheme production coordinator Matthew Mills explains what Soundstart is and introduces this year’s winners – PM

Andrew Scott, David Tennant and June Whitfield at the 2012 Awards

The 1963 production of Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton with Producer Douglas Cleverdon

The BBC will be 90 years old this November and that feels like a good moment to be celebrating one of the longest-lived programming genres with the first ever BBC Audio Drama Awards.

In the UK, drama has been on-air since the earliest days of BBC radio (from February 1923), initially with extracts from plays by Shakespeare, then plays for children and the first original play written specially for this new medium was Danger by Richard Hughes in 1924. Set in a coalmine after a cave-in, the characters had to communicate in the dark without sight of each other, a situation, it was felt, that reflected the particularity of this new medium - the dark, that is, not the disaster.

The presence of drama programming quickly caught listeners' attention and comments: as early as the late 1920s came letters complaining that the sound effects or the background music were too loud - and that is still the case 80 years on!

By the time World War II broke out, drama and comedy were felt to be such necessary contributions to British morale that a group of actors was contracted to 'play as cast' and evacuated for a short time, with other BBC staff, to Evesham in the first months of the war.

This repertory company soon returned to London and became established as the Radio Drama Company (RDC), remaining a constant part of BBC audio drama productions ever since. Hundreds of actors have passed though its ranks including Julian Rhind-Tutt, Emma Fielding, Alex Jennings, as well as Bertie Carvel and Nina Wadia, two of the award-givers at the ceremony on Sunday.

The RDC company members have also been complemented by many, many freelance actors and most showbiz names from the past 80 years have graced the microphones including, just in the last year, Kenneth Branagh, David Warner, Dawn French, Greta Scacchi, Juliet Stevenson, Jeremy Irons, Janet Suzman, Ian McKellen and, of course, David Tennant - to name but a few.

The other pillar of the history of audio drama is, of course, the writers.

Vital in launching many careers and nurturing and developing new writers all the time, it's worth mentioning a few names from the honours boards such as Dylan Thomas (Under Milk Wood is probably the world's most famous radio play), Tom Stoppard, Anthony Minghella, Bryony Lavery, Sue Townsend, Lee Hall, Harold Pinter, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Samuel Beckett, Christopher Hampton, Kwame Kwei-Armah and David Hare.

More recently, Lenny Henry has had his first play commissioned by and broadcast on Radio 4 and Mike Bartlett, now a prolific stage writer, cut several teeth in radio. He's written a blog on these awards, too, on the Society of Authors site.

No survey of the history of audio drama would be complete without a mention of the longest-lasting soap opera in the world, The Archers. Beginning in 1951 as 'an everyday story of country folk' with the aim of delivering agricultural advice and tips to Britain's farmers, it remains firmly at the centre of many listeners' hearts and is heard by 5 million people every week.

Of course, audio drama is not the sole preserve of the BBC. Internationally, there is still a significant presence of the medium on European and other Anglophone public broadcasting organisations, as well as some commercial production (largely non-broadcast these days).

And it's particularly interesting to see, over the last few years, a burgeoning online presence for the form. Often, but not always, short-form, it's fantastic that the power of storytelling through dialogue and sound alone is continuing to fascinate new makers as well as listeners.

So these Audio Drama Awards (hosted and organised by the BBC but not exclusive to BBC broadcasts) are designed to celebrate the talent, effort and achievement of all those individuals who contribute to this very particular and specialised form.

It's been heartening, as we have pulled the event together, how many people on hearing about the plans have responded that it's about time too. For such a prolific genre with such significantly-sized audiences it gets surprisingly little attention and we thought it was time to shout about it.

Alison Hindell is Head of Audio Drama

• Blog post: The winners of the first BBC Audio Drama Awards
• Radio producer Justine Potter (who was shortlisted for A Shoebox Of Snow by Julie Mayhew) recorded David Tennant's introduction to the Awards. You can hear it on Audioboo.
• Picture: David Tennant and Richard Wilson on stage at the Awards
• BBC News: David Tennant wins BBC audio drama award for Kafka role

Andrew Scott receives the Best Supporting Actor Award from June Whitfield

The winners of the first BBC Audio Drama Awards were announced by actor David Tennant at a special event in the Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House.

The awards are a celebration of audio drama, on air and online, and are about giving recognition to the actors, writers, producers, sound designers, and others who work in the genre.

The winners of the BBC Audio Drama Awards are:

Best Audio Drama:
Lost Property - The Year My Mother Went Missing by Katie Hims
Producer: Jessica Dromgoole, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Actor in an Audio Drama:
David Tennant, Kafka: The Musical by Murray Gold
Producer: Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 3

Best Actress in an Audio Drama:
Rosie Cavaliero, Lost Property: A Telegram From The Queen by Katie Hims
Producer: Jessica Dromgoole, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Supporting Actor/Actress in an Audio Drama:
Andrew Scott, Referee by Nick Perry
Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Scripted Comedy Drama:
Floating by Hugh Hughes
Producer: James Robinson, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Online Only Audio Drama:
Rock by Tim Fountain
Producer: Iain Mackness, Made in Manchester for The Independent Online

Best Adaptation:
The History of Titus Groan dramatised by Brian Sibley
Producers: David Hunter, Gemma Jenkins and Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Use of Sound in an Audio Drama:
Bad Memories by Julian Simpson
Producer: Karen Rose, Sweet Talk Productions for Radio 4

Innovation Award:
The Unfortunates adapted by Graham White
Producer: Mary Peate, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 3

The winner of the Imison Award for Best Radio Drama Script broadcast in 2010 by a new writer is:
Amazing Grace by Michelle Lipton

The winner of the Tinniswood Award for Best Radio Drama Script broadcast in 2010 is:
Gerontius by Stephen Wyatt

You'll be able to hear some of the BBC shortlisted audio dramas again on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra between Monday 30 January and Friday 10 February. Details to follow.

Paul Murphy is the editor of the Radio blog

• More about the Awards
• Read the full shortlist for the Awards

Ed's note: The Drama Awards shortlist is announced today. Here's the press release with the details. You can read about the launch of the Awards here - PM.

Today, the shortlist for the first ever BBC Audio Drama Awards is announced. The awards aim to celebrate and recognise the cultural importance of audio drama, on air and online, and to give recognition to the actors, writers, producers, sound designers, and others who work in the genre.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held on Sunday 29 January 2012 in the Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House in central London and presented by actor David Tennant. In conjunction with the Society of Authors and The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, The Imison and Tinniswood Awards will also be announced and presented by playwright and Guild President, David Edgar.

The BBC Audio Drama Awards shortlist for each category is:

Best Audio Drama
(Judges: Lord Hall, Razia Iqbal, Sarah Sands)

• A Shoebox Of Snow by Julie Mayhew
  Producer: Justine Potter, Red Production Company for Radio 4
• Lost Property - The Year My Mother Went Missing by Katie Hims
  Producer: Jessica Dromgoole, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
• The First Domino by Jonathan Cash
  Producer: Frank Stirling, Unique Broadcasting Company for Radio 3

Best Actor in an Audio Drama:
(Judges: Ian Brown, Lisa Campbell, Dame Harriet Walter CBE)

• Damian Lewis, Giovanni's Room dramatised by Neil Bartlett
  Producer: Turan Ali, Bona Broadcasting for Radio 3
• David Tennant, Kafka: The Musical by Murray Gold
  Producer: Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 3
• Rory Kinnear, Flare Path by Terence Rattigan
  Producer: Jeremy Herrin, Catherine Bailey Productions Ltd for Radio 3
• *Special Commendation* Tom Riley, Henry's Demons by Patrick and Henry Cockburn
  Producer: Karen Rose, Sweet Talk Productions for Radio 4

Best Actress in an Audio Drama:
(Judges: Michael Billington, Kate Harwood, Robin Lustig)

• Candis Nergaard, Atching Tan by Dan Allum
  Producer: Charlotte Riches, BBC Audio Drama North for Radio 4
• June Whitfield, A Montrous Vitality by Andy Merriman
  Producer: David Hunter, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
• Rosie Cavaliero, Lost Property: A Telegram From The Queen by Katie Hims
  Producer: Jessica Dromgoole, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Supporting Actor/Actress in an Audio Drama:
(Judges: Daniel Evans, Gillian Reynolds, Imogen Stubbs)

• Andrew Scott, Referee by Nick Perry
  Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
• Carl Prekopp, The History of Titus Groan dramatised by Brian Sibley
  Producers: David Hunter, Gemma Jenkins and Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4
• Rupert Penry-Jones, Flare Path by Terence Rattigan
  Producer: Jeremy Herrin, Catherine Bailey Productions Ltd for Radio 3

Best Scripted Comedy Drama:c (Judges: Andrew Davies, Christopher William Hill, Miranda Sawyer)

• Cabin Pressure by John Finnemore
  Producer: David Tyler, Pozzitive for Radio 4
• Ed Reardon's Week by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds
  Producer: Dawn Ellis, BBC Radio Comedy for Radio 4
• Floating by Hugh Hughes
  Producer: James Robinson, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Online Only Audio Drama:
(Judges: Nicolas Kent, Julie Myerson, Jane Thynne)

• Rock by Tim Fountain
  Producer: Iain Mackness, Made in Manchester for The Independent Online
• Wild Hackney
  Producer: Francesca Panetta and Russell Finch for Hackney Podcast

Best Adaptation:
(Judges: Viv Gardner, Maxine Peak, Fiammetta Rocco)

• Alone In Berlin dramatised by Shelagh Stephenson
  Producer: Eoin O'Callaghan, BBC Northern Ireland for Radio 4
• Five Days In May by Matthew Solon
  Producer: John Dryden, Goldhawk Productions for Radio 4
• The History of Titus Groan dramatised by Brian Sibley
  Producers: David Hunter, Gemma Jenkins and Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Best Use of Sound in an Audio Drama:
(Judges: Kevin Brew, John Hardy, Elisabeth Mahoney)

• Bad Memories by Julian Simpson
  Producer: Karen Rose, Sweet Talk Productions for Radio 4
• Can You Hear Me? by Margaret Wilkinson
  Producer: Nadia Molinari, BBC Audio Drama North for Radio 4
• The History of Titus Groan dramatised by Brian Sibley
  Producers: David Hunter, Gemma Jenkins and Jeremy Mortimer, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4

Innovation Award:
(Judges: Susannah Clapp, Rupert Goold, Stephen Wright)

• Blue Eyed Boy by Helen Cross
  Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery, BBC Bristol for Radio 4
• The Unfortunates adapted by Graham White
  Producer: Mary Peate, BBC Radio Drama for Radio 3
• Wild Hackney
  Producer: Francesca Panetta for Hackney Podcast

The shortlist for the Imison Award for Best Radio Drama Script broadcast in 2010 by a new writer is:

• Atching Tan by Dan Allum
• The Pursuit by Matt Hartley
• The Barber and the Ark by Marcia Layne
• Amazing Grace by Michelle Lipton

(Society of Author's Broadcasting Committee: Alison Joseph, Mike Bartlett, Lucy Caldwell, Nazrin Choudhury, Christopher William Hill, Karen Liebreich, Sue Limb, Karl Sabbagh, Colin Teevan and John Taylor)

The Tinniswood Award shortlist for Best Radio Drama Script broadcast in 2010 is:

• The Climb by Andrea Earl
• Sarah and Ken by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
• Setting a Glass by Nick Warburton
• Gerontius by Stephen Wyatt

(Judges: Robert Bathurst, Paul Donovan, Nell Leyshon)

The panel of judges taken from within and outside the BBC are:
Michael Billington, Theatre Critic, The Guardian
Kevin Brew, Producer, RTE
Ian Brown, Artistic Director, West Yorkshire Playhouse
Lisa Campbell, Editor, Broadcast
Susannah Clapp, Theatre Critic, The Observer
Andrew Davies, British Author and Screenwriter
Daniel Evans, Artistic Director, Sheffield Crucible
Viv Gardner, Professor of Theatre Studies, Manchester
Rupert Goold, Artistic Director, Headlong Theatre and Associate Director, RSC
Lord Hall of Birkenhead, Chief Executive, Royal Opera House
John Hardy, Composer
Kate Harwood, Controller, Series and Serials TV Drama
Christopher William Hill, Radio Dramatist and Playwright
Razia Iqbal, Journalist, BBC News
Nicolas Kent, Artistic Director, Tricycle Theatre
Robin Lustig, Journalist, BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4
Elisabeth Mahoney, Radio Critic, The Guardian
Julie Myerson, Author and Critic
Maxine Peake, Actress
Gillian Reynolds, Radio Critic, The Daily Telegraph
Fiammetta Rocco, Editor of Books and Arts, The Economist
Miranda Sawyer, Radio Critic, The Observer
Sarah Sands, Deputy Editor, Evening Standard
Imogen Stubbs, Actress and Playwright
Jane Thynne, Radio Critic, The Independent
Dame Harriet Walter CBE
Stephen Wright, Head of Drama, BBC Northern Ireland

Ever since 2002, when we started offering listeners the chance to hear radio programmes on demand via the original Radio Player, listeners have consistently asked to be able to catch up on all the episodes of series whilst that series is on air. There is nothing more frustrating, they told us, than getting interested in a serial in the third week and not being able to catch up on the first two parts which disappear after 7 days. In fact we became quite concerned that people might not even start listening to a serial if they felt they would not be able to keep up.

Well, today we have had good news. The BBC Trust has approved plans to introduce 'series catch-up' for radio and we will introduce it over the coming weeks. This means all episodes of a selected range of series will be available on our websites and via the BBC iPlayer until 7 days after the final instalment has gone out. The first series to offer this is the magnificent Classic Chandler on Radio 4.

Series catch-up covers speech-based programmes where we have the rights in place and where there is a clear narrative that progresses from one episode to the next. On Radio 4 look out in particular for future Classic Serial dramas such as Patrick O'Brien's The Mauritius Command and The History of Titus Groan as well as Agatha Christie dramatisations. Some of our big factual series such as The Reith Lectures or The Story of Economics or other long-running history series will benefit too as will comedy serials such as Ed Reardon and Clare in the Community. Series catch-up will be possible for landmark series on all of the BBC's radio networks.

We conducted a trial of this offer last year. One of the projects featured was the Complete Smiley. The results from the audience were very encouraging. 7000 people responded to our survey and the headlines were:

• 90% of users surveyed claimed they listened to more radio online as a consequence of series catch-up being available.
• More than half listened to programmes they otherwise wouldn't have listened to.
• More than half listened to more BBC radio online due to series catch-up.
• 37% said they had listened to episodes of series they would otherwise have missed without series catch-up.

We are working hard to make it easier for our audiences to hear more of our programmes online and this has been a good couple of weeks. The Series Catch up approval comes hot on the heels of the Radio 3 and Radio 4 service licence reviews in which the BBC Trust encouraged us to increase the amount of archive content we make available on our sites. As an example of this we have just launched a collection of interviews with the authors whose books are being featured on World Book Night on March 5th. There will be much more of this kind of activity and I will update you on our progress in the coming months.

Andrew Caspari is Head of Speech Radio and Classical Music, Interactive at the BBC

• Read the BBC Trust's decision on series catch-up here.
• Radio 4 Controller Gwyneth Williams wrote about the Trust's review of service licences here on the blog and Director of Audio & Music Tim Davie responded in The Radio Times.
• The illustration was created for the Classic Chandler season, one of those now available until seven days after the final transmission on the Radio 4 web site.

Unless you have kept well clear of the media this week, you will have seen or heard that we have been marking the 60th anniversary of the world's longest running continuous drama. The Archers has been a central part of listener's lives since 1951 and, if nothing else, the past few days have proved that it is precious and in rude health.

As you may be aware, debate is raging, particularly over the instantly infamous death of Nigel Pargetter in the special double-episode that ran on Jan 2nd. Even before his extended scream as he fell from the roof of Lower Loxley Hall, the messageboards and Twitter were buzzing. The reaction has spanned many emotions: listeners are angry, supportive, underwhelmed, overwhelmed, shocked, sad and enthralled. Above all, what is clear is that they care, deeply, about what happens in Ambridge.

I understand that some listeners think the special episode received too much attention, but we do need to be able to showcase and highlight the wonders of radio drama. The Archers is quite different to other dramas and I agree that we should let audiences quietly find the plot (too much 'sell' can be counter-productive), but this was a special occasion and we view it as a very rare set of circumstances. We should resist the sense that there is a growing need to sensationalise to build impact.

Also, those that do not believe that recent revelations were big enough to have "shaken Ambridge to the core" (the words of the Archers' editor, Vanessa Whitburn) should listen for a year or two to see just how big these events are: not in comparison with TV spectaculars but for the residents of Ambridge (and the loyal listeners).

Meanwhile, if you have not heard the programme or want to read the comments from listeners, here are some links for you to explore. Now is a good time to immerse yourself.

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the BBC

• Listen to the dramatic anniversary double episode on the Radio 4 web site and to a full day of Archers episodes from the archive on the Radio 7 web site.
• Archers scriptwriter and web site editor Keri Davies has put together a round-up of media reactions to the anniversary episode for the Archers blog.
• The Archers web site was recently relaunched. The site hosted the weekend's celebration of the 60th anniversary, including a day-long live blog and a special 'tweetalong' during the big episode.
• The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC (over one million comments per year). There is a new Archers blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account (the hashtag is #TheArchers). All have been hugely busy during the build-up to and the aftermath of the anniversary episode.
• Nigel Pargetter was played for 27 years by Graham Seed. He was interviewed on Today on Tuesday.
• The phrase "shake Ambridge to the core" first occurred in a formal BBC document called the 'statements of programme policy' where it was picked up and popularised by listeners. The hashtag #SATTC has been widely used.
• The picture shows the Pargetter family. Left-to-right: Nigel (played by Graham Seed), Lily, Elizabeth (played by Alison Dowling) and Freddie.