4 Extra Debut. A dramatic imagining of painter LS Lowry’s inner life and his friendships with aspiring young artists. Stars Tom Courtenay.

When Laurence Stephen Lowry died in 1976, he left nearly his entire fortune to a young woman with whom he happened to share a surname.

Her name was Carol Ann Lowry and she'd written to him in 1957 aged 13, hoping to gain some support in her quest to become an artist.

Lowry's response was beyond Carol’s wildest dreams. He paid for her convent education, helped her through art school and the pair remained friends until his death.

Award-winning writer Glyn Hughes examines the artist's platonic friendships with a succession of young women and their influence on his art.

LS Lowry ... Tom Courtenay

Carol Ann Lowry .... Rachel Atkins

Pat Gerrard .... Annabelle Dowler

Young Carol ..... Becky Simpson

Young Pat .... Holly Grainger

Mrs Lowry .... Ann Rye

Bank Official .... Frank Moorey

Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2001.