First published in 1831, Honore de Balzac’s La Grande Breteche is a tale of the Napoleonic Wars in Spain. Laurence Olivier stars as the Count de Merret who finds that his wife has taken a lover, a Spanish prisoner of war, at his house, “La Grande Breteche”. A terrible revenge follows.

"Theatre Royal" was launched in 1953 on BCF Radio and was quickly taken up by American radio networks. It was the only radio series in which Laurence Olivier starred.