1979 The Hobbit (BBC Jackanory 3,000)

Release Date: 1979.10.01
Readers: Bernard Cribbins, Jan Francis, Maurice Denham and David Wood
Language: English
Organization: BBC Television
Publisher: BBC Physical Audio, 2013
ISBN: 9781471358371
Duration: 2 hours 28 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: UK
Licenced: Yes
Formats: CD

Jackanory was a much-loved children’s television series that took the format of a celebrity narrating story to camera in multiple parts. To mark the 3,000th programme, they chose The Hobbit and assembled a cast of four readers: Jan Francis was narrator, Bernard Cribbins as Bilbo, Maurice Denham as Gandalf and David Wood as everybody else.

It was transmitted over two weeks and 10 episodes but not made available commercially until 2013 and sharing artwork with the new release in that year of a hardback edition with illustrations by Jemima Catlin.