It's been a remarkably busy nine days! Post-production on the series continues apace. In the midst of it all, we held our successful second Live Show. And on Tuesday, I was interviewed on BBC Radio twice - Radio Jersey in the morning, and Radio Guernsey in the evening - to talk about Wooden Overcoats and the island of Piffling. Rather splendidly, small fan communities have begun to spring up, with discussions about the characters and where the emotional arcs are headed. It's absolutely marvellous that people are already invested in our series and we're incredibly grateful.

Episode 4 is Tempting Fête by my own sweet self. Rudyard Funn is reluctantly tasked with organising Piffling Vale's first fête in eleven years. Whilst Antigone and Georgie help as best they can, Rudyard's ideas are thrown into turmoil after a chance remark from Eric Chapman.

After three episodes that established the premise of the series and the core relationships of the central characters, I wanted to explore Piffling Vale itself. We see the drastically underfunded but eternally optimistic village council in action. We delve into the matter of community spirit and what it means to be a part of Piffling. And we see Eric Chapman, already perfectly integrated into his new surroundings, continuing to increase his reputation, whilst Rudyard remains vehemently baffled at how things are changing so rapidly around him.

You'll be delighted by the return of Steve Hodson as the erratic Mayor Desmond Desmond. Andy Secombe remains on hand as Reverend Wavering, joyful as ever. And big plaudits go to our guest star Catriona Knox (BBC2's Charlie Brooker's Weekly / Election Wipe, Radio 4's Mission Improbable),  delivering a highly spirited performance as the infamous Lady Templar.

 Then it's onto Episode 5: She Stoops to Conquer by T. A. Woodsmith. When I first had coffee with Tiff to find out what she wanted to do with Wooden Overcoats, her instant reaction was: "I want to write an episode about Antigone." At that point, all we had was a draft of my Episode 1, in which Antigone is very much a supporting character. But it swiftly became apparent that Rudyard's acerbic sister - a master mortician hiding a deep-seated and entirely resentful lust for her feared business rival, Eric Chapman - was destined to drive a number of the series' plots. And Tiff's Episode 5 gives us Antigone at her most determined so far.

Fearing a life of loneliness and despair, Antigone seeks Georgie's advice on how to bring out the flirtier side of her nature. But her uneasy voyage of self discovery is hi-jacked by Rudyard, who requires her to seduce a rich and valuable new client...

There are so many things to like about this episode, not least Beth Eyre's wonderfully funny performance as an Antigone firmly out of her comfort zone. We get to see the domestic side of Funn Funerals, as Rudyard, Antigone and Georgie argue at the breakfast table. Eric Chapman finds himself faced with a client he can't win over with his charm. And there's a powerhouse portrayal of a smooth and utter bastard from Max Olesker (BBC1's W1A, BBC Radio 4's The Casebook of Max and Ivan) as Seymour Prophitte. "I haven't spent two decades getting filthy rich just to spend it all on women, Lamborghini's and an incredibly heavy pocket watch."

As ever, you can subscribe to us on iTunes or from your preferred podcast client, or listen to us on the Wooden Overcoats website.

Enjoy yourselves!

Wooden Overcoats continues, happily enough, and we've now got listeners on every continent barring Antarctica (and we're working on that). We're bouncing around the iTunes charts and getting very nice write-ups indeed: "High quality comedy at its absolute best!" "Beautifully written and brilliantly performed." "Proper belly laughs on my commute! Cannot wait for the next one!"

Episode 3 - The Little Death by Tom Crowley is a wonderful little character piece which, like most of my favourite comedies, has a very simple premise: Antigone wants to have a nice time at the cinema, and circumstances prevent her from doing so (namely, a background drama involving Rudyard, Eric and Georgie). Tom's written a fabulous script which puts the focus on how the four central characters interact with each other on a more personal level. It's especially gratifying to see what makes Georgie tick, having stood on the sidelines for much of the first two episodes. Eric also gets an opportunity to show a few new sides to his nature. But it's Antigone who's really at the centre of this episode, and her frustration with herself and the world around her is heart-wrenching stuff. Very funny too.

There's still time, though, for a whole range of guest characters to do their thing. Freya Parker (50% of sketch duo Lazy Susan) is unscrupulous Australian café owner Hettie Mayo, the woefully overqualified character comedian Kieran Hodgson lends us some sensual French groaning as Serge, and Old Harry's Game star and frequent QI and Have I Got News for You guest Andy Hamilton plays the lonely cinema owner Herbert Cough. It's possible, however, that the whole episode is stolen by Ellie Dickens as Miss Scruple. You'll know what I mean when you hear it; such a fun scene.

As usual, you can download us from iTunes, find us via your preferred podcast client, or stream us from the Wooden Overcoats website.

And if you live in London, or happen to be visiting at the right time, you can also experience Wooden Overcoats being performed live! Our first show on Monday 5th was a big success and we'd like our other three shows to be just as happy! The core cast of Felix Trench, Beth Eyre, Tom Crowley and Ciara Baxendale will be joined each fortnight by special guests drawn from the episodes or, sometimes, performers who are brand new to the show.

We can confirm the following guests so far:

Show #2 (Episodes 3 & 4) - October 19th - Freya Parker, Celeste Dring, Kieran Hodgson

Show # 3 (Episodes 5 & 6) - November 2nd - Max Olesker

Show # 4 (Episodes 7 & 8) - November 16th - Jason Forbes, Phil Wang

The Horse & Stables
122 - 124 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7RW

7.30pm (2 hours approx)

Tickets - £5

Why come to see Wooden Overcoats live when you can listen to it on iTunes? Because the Live Shows just give a totally different experience of the material, the performances, and the world of Wooden Overcoats. The atmosphere at the first show was just sensational. Casual, warm, a real buzz in the air. There's something so fun and free-wheeling about watching live radio comedy, and you really can't get that anywhere else. If you can come to any of our evenings, we promise you it'll be worth it. See you there!

Wooden Overcoats is now being released one episode every Thursday! At last! The producers, Andy Goddard and John Wakefield, have done a wonderful job of applying their technical wizardry to the recordings and the results are simply breathtaking. You'll be enveloped in Piffling, and that's a fact.

So far the response has been tremendously positive. On our first day of release last week, we hit 7th for Arts and 5th for Performing Arts in the iTunes charts, and have been bumping around the New and Noteworthy section since then. People are subscribing and listening to us in various countries all over the world (a special shout-out here to our listener in Qatar) and we're getting lovely things written about us on Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and everywhere else.

And you can listen to us too. In fact, I'd heavily suggest you do.

The saga begins with Episode 1: The Bane of Rudyard, in which Piffling Vale's resident undertaker Rudyard Funn (Felix Trench) endures the worst day of his life when charming competitor Eric Chapman (Tom Crowley) sets up shop across the square. Over the half hour you'll also be introduced to the other regulars, Rudyard's sister Antigone Funn (Beth Eyre) and caustic dogsbody Georgie Crusoe (Ciara Baxendale), not to mention Piffling's agnostic Reverend Wavering (Andy Secombe) and the unsettled Mayor Desmond Desmond (Steve Hodson). And the whole thing is narrated by Belinda Lang, which is simply smashing.

Then onto Episode 2: Flowers for Chapman by Christopher Hogg, which continues to explore the island and its community as Rudyard launches a two-pronged attack on Eric Chapman. Joining us for this episode are our guest stars Sarah Thom (Clare in the Community, Home Fires) as flirty flower seller Petunia Bloom, and Paul Putner (Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, Rock & Chips, Downton Abbey) as news editor Sid Marlowe.

To enjoy Wooden Overcoats, simply:

1) go to iTunes (or your preferred podcast client)
2) search for Wooden Overcoats
3) hit "subscribe"
4) stream and download episodes at your leisure!

For those who don't fancy technology much, you can also stream episodes at www.woodenovercoats.com

Enjoy yourselves!