In a collaboration that threatens to blow the minds of sci-fi and fantasy geeks around the country, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s 1990 novel Good Omens is to be adapted for Radio 4 by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy director Dirk Maggs – the man also responsible for the acclaimed dramatisation of Gaiman’s novel Neverwhere.


RadioTimes.com reported last year that the project was in the works but official confirmation comes today – along with news of a star-studded cast that only adds to the fanboy fun…

The six-part audio series is packed with famous names from cult TV shows including Sherlock, Merlin, Game of Thrones, Being Human, Shaun of the Dead, Spaced and Peep Show.

Take a deep breath…

Mark Heap and Peter Serafinowicz will be taking centre stage as the angel and demon, Aziraphale and Crowley. Others on board include Colin Morgan, Louise Brealey, Clive Russell, Julia Deakin, Simon Jones, Arsher Ali, Phil Davis and Mark Benton. It will even feature cameos from Gaiman and Pratchett themselves.

Comic fantasy Good Omens tells the story of a fast-approaching apocalypse and an unlikely duo – the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley – who are keen to prevent it by killing the Antichrist. Unfortunately, they seem to have mislaid him…

Released in 1990 and listed among the BBC’s Big Read Nation’s 100 favourite books, Good Omens has never previously been dramatised.

Maggs has adapted the novel with the help of Gaiman and will team up once again with Heather Lamour who produced Radio 4/4 Extra’s critically and popularly acclaimed adaptation of Gaiman’s fantasy novel Neverwhere, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy and Natalie Dormer.

Good Omens will come to Radio 4 in December with five half-hour episodes leading up to a – presumably apocalyptic – hour-long finale in time for Christmas.

Pratchett and Gaiman are two of the country’s most well-respected fantasy authors. Along with Neverwhere, Gaiman has had success with American Gods and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, while the highly prolific Pratchett is known in particular for his Discworld novels.


Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams said of the project: “I’m delighted to have Neil Gaiman back on Radio 4 – and this time with Terry Pratchett. I can’t wait to hear what they will do with the apocalypse. The Radio 4 audience loved Neverwhere and Good Omens will be a splendid Christmas treat. “