Limelight

With Laura held hostage aboard the Polaris and Fred locked in a dangerous standoff with Raymond, Maria uncovers evidence that the mysterious storm trapping both ships may be a gateway through time, offering a route home. A daring rescue mission and the threat of violence push both crews to the brink of war.
When a stranded Arctic research vessel transmits a call for help, the ship that comes to the rescue is not what they expected. Trapped together in a frozen limbo, two crews separated by a century must survive starvation, the elements, and paranoia to get home.
A chilling five-part supernatural thriller that blends claustrophobic survivalism, cosmic sci-fi and environmental geopolitics, set in one of the most hostile places on Earth - the Arctic tundra. Written by the writers of the award-winning drama podcast 'Up In Smoke', Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen.
MARIA.....Raffey Cassidy
FRANK.....Ben Crowe
TIMOTHY.....Sacha Dhawan
RAYMOND.....Burn Gorman
BERTIE.....Calam Lynch
FRED.....Tanya Moodie
LAURA.....Tiffany Smith
Writers: Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen
Director: Nadia Molinari
Sound Designer and Technical Producer: Sharon Hughes
Technical Producer: Sam Dickinson
Production Co-ordinator : Pippa Day
Series Script Editor: Lorna Newman
Casting Manager: Alex Curran
Series Scientific Consultant: Prof. James Lea from the University of Liverpool
Weather Consultant: Andy Cutcher
Arctic Historian Consultant: Peter Martin
Army Consultant: Alec Heron
Ship Navigation Consultants: Martha Armitage & James Butters
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

Following a catastrophic attempt to free the Epsilon from the ice and the withdrawal of support from the Polaris, Fred embarks on a perilous solo journey to seek help. With Fred away, convinced that the answer lies within the storm itself, Maria pursues a dangerous journey of her own.
When a stranded Arctic research vessel transmits a call for help, the ship that comes to the rescue is not what they expected. Trapped together in a frozen limbo, two crews separated by a century must survive starvation, the elements, and paranoia to get home.
A chilling five-part supernatural thriller that blends claustrophobic survivalism, cosmic sci-fi and environmental geopolitics, set in one of the most hostile places on Earth - the Arctic tundra. Written by the writers of the award-winning drama podcast 'Up In Smoke', Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen.
MARIA.....Raffey Cassidy
FRANK.....Ben Crowe
TIMOTHY.....Sacha Dhawan
RAYMOND.....Burn Gorman
BERTIE.....Calam Lynch
FRED.....Tanya Moodie
LAURA.....Tiffany Smith
Writers: Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen
Director: Nadia Molinari
Sound Designer and Technical Producer: Sharon Hughes
Technical Producer: Sam Dickinson
Production Co-ordinator : Pippa Day
Series Script Editor: Lorna Newman
Casting Manager: Alex Curran
Series Scientific Consultant: Prof. James Lea from the University of Liverpool
Weather Consultant: Andy Cutcher
Arctic Historian Consultant: Peter Martin
Army Consultant: Alec Heron
Ship Navigation Consultants: Martha Armitage & James Butters
Artwork: Madison Coby
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

The stranded crew of the Epsilon forge an uneasy partnership with the Polaris crew who claim to be the survivors of a 1926 polar expedition. As they work together to escape the Arctic ice, mounting evidence suggests their extraordinary claim might be true.
When a stranded Arctic research vessel transmits a call for help, the ship that comes to the rescue is not what they expected. Trapped together in a frozen limbo, two crews separated by a century must survive starvation, the elements, and paranoia to get home.
A chilling five-part supernatural thriller that blends claustrophobic survivalism, cosmic sci-fi and environmental geopolitics, set in one of the most hostile places on Earth - the Arctic tundra. Written by the writers of the award-winning drama podcast 'Up In Smoke', Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen.
MARIA.....Raffey Cassidy
FRANK.....Ben Crowe
TIMOTHY.....Sacha Dhawan
RAYMOND.....Burn Gorman
BERTIE.....Calam Lynch
FRED.....Tanya Moodie
LAURA.....Tiffany Smith
Writers: Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen
Director: Nadia Molinari
Sound Designer and Technical Producer: Sharon Hughes
Technical producer: Sam Dickinson
Production Co-ordinator : Pippa Day
Series Script Editor: Lorna Newman
Casting Manager: Alex Curran
Series Scientific Consultant: Prof. James Lea from the University of Liverpool
Weather Consultant: Andy Cutcher
Arctic Historian Consultant: Peter Martin
Army consultant: Alec Heron
Ship Navigation Consultants: Martha Armitage & James Butters
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

Following an Arctic storm, the crew of the research vessel Coralith Epsilon find themselves stranded in thick pack ice. Cut off from the outside world and running low on supplies, hope arrives in the form of a mysterious Morse code message.
But the ship that comes to the rescue is not what they expected. Trapped together in a frozen limbo, two crews separated by a century must survive starvation, the elements, and paranoia to get home.
A chilling five-part supernatural thriller that blends claustrophobic survivalism, cosmic sci-fi and environmental geopolitics, set in one of the most hostile places on Earth - the Arctic tundra. Written by the writers of the award-winning drama podcast 'Up In Smoke', Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen.
MARIA.....Raffey Cassidy
TIMOTHY.....Sacha Dhawan
FRED.....Tanya Moodie
LAURA.....Tiffany Smith
Writers: Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen
Director: Nadia Molinari
Sound Designer and Technical Producer: Sharon Hughes
Technical Producer: Sam Dickinson
Production Co-ordinator : Pippa Day
Series Script Editor: Lorna Newman
Casting Manager: Alex Curran
Series Scientific Consultant: Prof. James Lea from the University of Liverpool
Weather Consultant: Andy Cutcher
Arctic Historian Consultant: Peter Martin
Army Consultant: Alec Heron
Ship Navigation Consultants: Martha Armitage & James Butters
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

When a stranded Arctic research vessel transmits a call for help, the ship that comes to the rescue is not what they expected. Trapped together in a frozen limbo, two crews separated by a century must survive starvation, the elements, and paranoia to get home.
A chilling five-part supernatural thriller that blends claustrophobic survivalism, cosmic sci-fi and environmental geopolitics, set in one of the most hostile places on Earth - the Arctic tundra. Written by the writers of the award-winning drama podcast 'Up In Smoke', Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen.
Listen to the whole series on BBC Sounds from 23 October, 2026.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.