Timeturner Tales

from Pons Novus

Basic History of the Show

• The WWN's longest-running dramatic serial, it premiered in May of 1947.
• New episodes are aired weekdays, 3 pm - 4 pm; they have had this timeslot since 1982.
• As suggested by the title, timeturners are a frequent plot device used on the show, to go back and "fix" events during the course of narration. They very rarely leave gaping holes in the narration anymore, though those were prevalent in the early years of the show. The timeturners, of course, are accompanied by cheesy sound effects. (They do, however, handwave certain "rules" about timeturner use, such as not being seen; nobody ever seems to question the prevalence of timeturners in Port Merwyn, or the ease with which people acquire and use them.)
• For decades, the writing was high quality, but since about the turn of the century, the writing has started slipping, and the show has devolved from drama to melodrama in recent years. (You can thank the current Head Writer for that.) There are murmurs from behind the scenes that the current Head Writer is on his way out, and that the writer who is most likely to take his place will work on returning the show to its prior levels of high-quality writing, but nobody will comment on the rumours officially.
• The voice of the narrator is always a soothing, older gentleman. It has remained surprisingly constant since the start of the show, despite the fact that there have been six different actors taking on his "character." Only the most devoted fans who pay close attention would be able to tell you the differences. The show is set in and around the fictional seaside town of Port Merwyn in northeastern England (an "exact location" is never given, it's just only ever stated as being located in the northeast).
• The town was named after Merwyn the Malicious and is an entirely-wizarding town. Muggles don't even know it exists. It's a relatively small town where everyone seems to know everyone else. Think Stars Hollow from the TV show Gilmore Girls, only a little bit less kooky. For the most part, residents live in relatively small single-family houses or above their own businesses, though there are four big estates surrounding the town. One of the biggest business in town is the Starboard Inn, which is owned and run by the Hughes family. All sorts of deals and confrontations have taken place in the Inn's bar/restaurant and in the rooms upstairs.
• The show primarily focuses on the four "core" families of the town, each of which has a different primary business, and each one lives in one of the four estates. Everyone else in town, even if not part of the core families, is in some way connected to one of them, either through relationships or business. It's extremely rare for a character who isn't part of the Core Four to have their own storyline that doesn't involve at least one of the families.

Basic Information for Cast and Crew

• Since 1985, the show does not air live, it is often recorded up to a week prior to air date. This allows for multiple takes, if necessary (the actor who has played "Whitey" since the beginning was notorious for frequently misspeaking on the air), as well as allowing for sound effects to be better integrated.
• Prior to recording, there are brief group read-throughs of the script. Actors can request minor rewrites after read-throughs, but those are generally rare.
• And speaking of the script, the actors frequently only get their scripts a day or two before recording, the writers don't leave themselves much of a buffer, because they try to tweak their storytelling based on reactions from the audience after episodes have aired.
• The original Head Writer was replaced in 2001 when he asked for a raise. The new Head Writer came from outside of the show and has been more interested in melodrama than drama.
• Under the Head Writer is a staff of five writers who work together to actually write the scripts. There is one writer who is the "main" writer for each of the four families, and one who is the "main" writer for the rest of the characters in the town, and each is considered the in-house expert on the personalities and histories of each member of their part of the cast. The Head Writer is generally in charge of determining over-arching plots and weaving together everything the Five write. The writing staff is relatively small for such a large show, yes, but it's been shown to work well. Writers have had to work their way up on other wireless shows before getting a shot at the "big leagues" for Timeturner Tales. There is generally very infrequent turnover in the writing staff.
• Generally, the children are voiced by older actors who are already under contract with the show; most characters who are introduced to the show as children don't get their "own" actor until the character has graduated from Hogwarts, simply because those characters are only around during Hogwarts holidays for seven years, and the Powers That Be don't want to have somebody under contract for such infrequency. Once the character graduates from Hogwarts and until they are recast, they will still be voiced by the same actor who had voiced them in growing up. Because of this, auditions for roles on the serial often include readings of children's parts, as they try to hire actors who can convincingly sound like children if needed. However, also because of this, the children don't often get many speaking parts on the show until they're almost at Hogwarts age.
  • There are a few notable exceptions to this. The 9-year-old daughter of the voice actress for Hera Sprecher was cast in Marie Sprecher's role in 1999, after Marie's accident, because Marie would not be attending Hogwarts, and the daughter was a squib, so she would not be attending Hogwarts, either.
  • Sometimes, if there is a promising Hogwarts student who plans to go into acting after they finish school, they will be offered the role of a Hogwarts-aged character on the show under a special contract that only has them working on Hogwarts holidays, with stipulations built in on maintaining decent marks in school and graduating on time, and the contract only runs through graduation: giving both the show and the actor the opportunity to change their mind before the character becomes a full-time cast member.
  • Whenever a new actor takes over the voice of a character, or a new character is introduced that an existing cast member will be voicing, the Narrator mentions it briefly at the start of the show. ("The role of Ryan Sprecher will now be voiced by Hugh Bradley.")
• Occasionally, contract actors will be asked to do double-duty and provide the voice for (adult) single-shot characters (visitors to the town), but this generally only happens if the Powers That Be don't think the new character will be around for very long, to reduce confusion. Not that the actors aren't capable of providing different-enough sounding voices, but in a medium where the only differentiation between characters is their voice …

The Current Main Cast of Characters

The NARRATOR is sort of like an outside observer of the goings-on of the residents of Port Merwyn. Because the show is broadcast over the wireless and the listeners can't see what's going on, he provides descriptions of scene changes, and of what's going on when it's not readily obvious. None of the characters acknowledge his presence.

The HUGHES family are business moguls; their primary business is Hughes Enterprises, which funds or flat-out owns just about every business in town.

• Edward Hughes is the family patriarch and an important donor to St. Mungo's; born c. 1908
• Lila Hughes née Clark was Edward's wife, who had an "off-camera" death when her portrayer died; the funeral was one of the most-listened-to episodes in the entire 1990s; born c. 1910
  • Jennifer Hughes is Edward and Lila's daughter, who has been her father's right hand since she graduated from Hogwarts; born c. 1935
    • Bradley Hughes is Jennifer's son from an unknown wizard, he is a mostly-retired musician and has been poised to inherit the family business since Daniel's death and Callum's estrangement; born c. 1960
      • Glynnis Hughes-Sprecher married Bradley in a huge twist of a storyline in 2015. Prior to marrying, Bradley was your typical Confirmed Bachelor, and Glynnis was the poster-child for being the wild, crazy, fun-loving spinster. Their marriage royally pissed off their dads.
      • Mickey Hughes-Sprecher is Bradley and Glynnis' adopted son, and he is a Hogwarts student; born c. 2016
    • Eleanor Hughes is Jennifer's son from an unknown wizard (different from Bradley's father), she is a novelist; born c. 1974
  • Henry Hughes is Edward and Lila's son, and he went against his parents' plans for him and became a Healer instead of joining the family business; there is frequent tension between him and his father; born c. 1940
    • Jeanne Hughes née Ward is Henry's wife, and she is also a Healer; born c. 1948
    • Daniel Hughes was Henry and Jeanne's eldest son, he was poised to inherit the family business until he died in a cauldron explosion in 1990; born c. 1968
      • William Jonathan Whitaker Hughes is Daniel's son with Caroline Whitaker and the adoptive son of Michael Whitaker III; he chose to join the Hughes side of the family (and had his name legally changed to Hughes in 2009) and works for the family business; born c. 1990
        • Katy Hughes née Baxter is William's wife, she is the star chaser for the Appleby Arrows quidditch team, and was made captain in 2020; born c. 1992
        • Daniel Hughes is William and Katy's son, named after his grandfather, and he is a student at Hogwarts; born c. 1916
        • Mellie Hughes is William and Katy's daughter, born c. 2019
    • Callum Hughes is Henry and Jeanne's youngest son, and he is estranged from the family ever since they had different views on the war; he has worked with the Whitaker family (as Michael III's right hand man) since 1999; born c. 1975 (see below in the Whitaker section for more on him.)
    • Audrey Hughes is Henry and Jeanne's daughter, and she manages the Starboard Inn; born c. 1980
      • Liam Wurth Hughes is Audrey's husband (he took her name, because it had more prestige in town), and he is basically the male version of the trophy wife; he's a hanger-on who likes to be rubbing elbows with the rich and famous; he does love Audrey... he just loves her family's money more; born c. 1978
      • Rose Hughes is Liam and Audrey's oldest daughter; she rather despises her father's uselessness; she works front-desk at the Starboard Inn; born c. 2009
      • Marigold Hughes is Liam and Audrey's younger daughter; she's flighty and fanciful, and nobody really expects her to amount to much of anything; she is a Hogwarts student; born c. 2012
      • Briar Hughes is Liam and Audrey's son; he already shows signs of being a front-running businessman poised to go into the family business; he is a Hogwarts student; born c. 2015

The KNIGHT family is a very ministry-connected family. The family dream is to one day have a Knight as the Minister for Magic.

• George Knight is the family patriarch, and he is a diplomat for the Department of International Magical Cooperation; born c. 1925
• Olivia Knight née Morgan is George's wife; born c. 1927
  • Alexander Knight is the eldest son of George and Olivia, and he is the Head of the Department of Mysteries; born c. 1953
  • Holly Knight is the daughter of George and Olivia, and she is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot; she used to be retained as the Whitaker family's primary solicitor until 1987; born c. 1957
    • Jasper Hearst is Holly's on-again-off-again husband (they have been married and divorced three times: the first time from 1989-1993, the second time from 2000-2005, the third time from 2009-2010), and he is the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation; born c. 1950
    • Todd Joshua Knight-Whitaker is the son of Holly Knight and Michael Whitaker III: Holly had primary custody as he was growing up; he is an Auror; born c. 1985
      • Ophelia Knight-Whitaker née Brown is Todd's wife; she is a philanthropist who has been working to bring a more charitable lean to the town; born c. 1987
      • Penny Knight-Whitaker is Todd and Ophelia's daughter; she is a hitwitch trainee; born c. 2010
    • Julia MacBride née Hearst is Jasper and Holly's older daughter; she works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures; born c. 1992
      • Patrick MacBride is Julia's husband; he works on a dragon reserve; born c. 1990
      • Moira MacBride is Julia and Patrick's daughter; she is currently a Hogwarts student; born c. 2015
      • Dougal MacBride is Julia and Patrick's son; born c. 2018
    • Jocelyn Hearst is Jasper and Holly's younger daughter; she works in the International Magical Office of Law and looks promising to become the first Knight to be the Minister for Magic; born c. 2004
      • Charles Wilson is Jocelyn's husband (she chose to keep her maiden name); he works on the Committee on Experimental Charms; born c. 2003
      • Amelia Wilson is Jocelyn and Charles' daughter; born c. 2027
    • James Hearst is Jasper and Holly's son, and he is just starting Auror training; born c. 2010
  • Timothy Knight is the youngest son of George and Olivia, and he is the Head of the Auror Office; born c. 1963
    • Samantha Knight née Hill is Timothy's wife, and she is a retired hitwitch; born c. 1963
    • Owen Knight is Timothy and Samantha's son and the twin brother of Kate, and he is an Auror; born c. 1980
    • Kate Sprecher née Knight is Timothy and Samantha's daughter and the twin sister of Owen, and she is a diplomat for the Department of International Magical Cooperation; born c. 1980 (see below in the Sprecher section for more on her.)

The SPRECHER family breeds and races Aethonons. Their estate, obviously, includes a very well-designed stables and a practice course.

• Richard "Whitey" Sprecher is the family patriarch; born c. 1922
• Katherine Sprecher née Parker is Richard's wife; born c. 1925
  • Brennan Sprecher is Richard and Katherine's eldest child, a famous retired Aethonon racer; born c. 1953
    • Sitti Sprecher née Hussain is Brennan's wife; born c. 1955
    • Laina Sprecher was Brennan and Sitti's daughter, she died in 1998 during the war; born c. 1953
    • Ryan Sprecher (Hugh Bradley) is Brennan and Sitti's son, a fun-loving boy who has managed to surpass his famous father as a racer; born c. 1980
      • Kate Sprecher née Knight is Ryan's wife; she is a diplomat for the Department of International Magical Cooperation; born c. 1980
      • Laina Sprecher is Ryan and Kate's older daughter, named after her aunt; she is learning at the hand of her father how to become a great racer; born c. 2009
      • Sophia Sprecher is Ryan and Kate's younger daughter; she is a Hogwarts student; born c. 2011
      • Richard Sprecher is Ryan and Kate's son, named after his great-grandfather; he is a Hogwarts student; born c. 2013
    • Jung Iseul Kwan is Brennan and Sitti's goddaughter, and has been living with the Sprecher family ever since her parents were killed during the war; she has become one of the best breeders among the Sprechers; born c. 1980
  • Arthur Sprecher is Richard and Katherine's younger son, a veritable Aethonon-whisperer; born c. 1959
    • Hera Sprecher née Mason is Arther's wife; born c. 1962
    • Marie "Mouse" Sprecher is Arthur and Hera's daughter, who was crippled in a riding accident in 1999, so the family would not let her fly again for the longest time, despite her constant dreams of it; she finally flew again in 2020, and although she can't race, she helps out aorund the stables and enjoys taking the Aethonons out for flights; born c. 1990
  • Glynnis Hughes-Sprecher is Richard and Katherine's daughter; born c. 1965 (see above in the Hughes section for more on her.)

The WHITAKER family is heavily involved in the black market, under the guise of international shipping. When the show first started, the fourth family was the Munroe family, and Michael III became Jack Munroe's right hand man circa 1975, taking over the "family," business, and estate in 1978 after Jack's murder. The murder of Jack Munroe was one of the biggest mysteries of any non-crime-based serial ever on the wireless, spanning months. Long-time listeners still fondly recall that as the peak of Timeturner Tales' storytelling. (And for the record, Jack's son Damian killed him and tried to pin it on Michael III, out of jealousy for how much more Jack liked Michael III than Damian.)

• Michael James Whitaker III is the family patriarch; born c. 1950
• Caroline Jean Whitaker née Williams is the on-again-off-again wife of Michael III (currently on again; they have been married or otherwise involved with each other more often than not since 1978); born c. 1957
  • Michael James "Mikey" Whitaker IV is Michael III and Caroline's eldest son; he works with his dad; born c. 1980
    • Imogen Whitaker née Clarke is Mikey's wife; she is a jewellery designer; born c. 1982
    • Michael James "Vee" Whitaker V is Mikey and Imogen's son; he is currently working on the legitimate side of the family business; born c. 2007
    • Maisie Whitaker is Mikey and Imogen's daughter; she is a Hogwarts student; born c. 2012
  • Todd Joshua Knight-Whitaker is the son of Michael Whitaker III and Holly Knight; born c. 1985 (see above in the Knight section for more on him.)
  • William Jonathan Whitaker Hughes is the son of Caroline Whitaker and Daniel Hughes and the adoptive son of Michael Whitaker III and is a student at Hogwarts; born c. 1990 (see above in the Hughes section for more on him.)


• Callum Hughes is a member of the Hughes family by blood, but he has been working with the Whitaker family since 1999, when he became estranged from his family due to differing opinions on the war; he was in an on-again-off-again relationship with Sophie Roberts from 2003 through 2013; they have been married since 2013; born c. 1975
• Sophie Roberts (Gemma Farley) is Michael III's assistant; she was pregnant with his child in 2001, but miscarried after an attack on the Whitaker family left her barely alive; she was in an on-again-off-again relationship with Callum Hughes from 2003 through 2013; they have been married since 2013; born c. 1976
  • Jacqueline Hughes-Roberts is Callum and Sophie's daughter; she is currently a Hogwarts student; born c. 2012
  • Benjamin Hughes-Roberts is Callum and Sophie's son; he is currently a Hogwarts student; born c. 2014

There are, of course, many other characters involved in the cast that are not a member of one of the four families, though the focus on the show is very obviously focused on the four families.

A few notes

There are three legendary pairs of get-them-in-the-same-room-and-they'll-kill-each-other relationships: Jasper Hearst and Michael Whitaker III, whose disagreements and butting of heads date back to when they attended Hogwarts together; Holly Knight and Caroline Whitaker, who were best friends until Michael III and Holly slept together and are now frenemies of the highest caliber; and Edward Hughes and Whitey Sprecher, who just feud over whose family is more prestigious and talented (it's not quite Montagues and Capulets, but both saw red when Audrey and Ryan dated in 1996-7, and they nearly killed each other when Bradley and Glynnis married in 2015). Even though these six characters aren't as prevalent on the show's canvas as they used to be, their feuds are still well-known and frequently referenced.

Colors do not necessarily indicate Hogwarts house placement, despite the similarity to house colors, they are simply the colors chosen to represent each individual family on this page. Grayed-out characters are no longer separately voiced on the show, either because the portrayer (or character) died, or because the writers wanted to shift the focus to younger generations and began phasing the older generations out. The voice actors (who are still alive) who portrayed grayed-out characters are no longer on contract with the show, but may occasionally be brought back for an episode or two to reprise their role if needed. This helps keep the size of the cast small enough to manage.

Famous Storylines

A few of the more well-known and often-referenced storylines from the show.

• Who Killed Jack Munroe? In 1978, Jack Munroe (up until this point, the head of the fourth family) was murdered. The mystery spanned months and resulted in the highest ratings the show saw in the 70s. It was eventually discovered that Jack's son Damian killed him and tried to pin it on Michael III (Jack's then-right-hand-man) out of jealousy; Damian had used a timeturner to create an alibi for himself, and also to cause discredit for Michael III's alibi.
• The Death of Daniel Hughes In 1990, Daniel Hughes died in a cauldron explosion, mere months after his son was born and adopted by Michael III. The mystery surrounding Daniel's death again focused on Michael III as a prime suspect, but the storyline sort of fizzled to a halt when Michael III's portrayer renewed his contract and the writers had no idea who to put the blame on now, so it was determined that Daniel's death had simply been an accident.
• Poisoned Water Source From August 1997 - May 1998, the show's creative team was under intense pressure from the Ministry to portray the war favourably toward them. Many characters behaved in ways that were out-of-character to what listeners were used to. After the war was over and everything was righted, the writers decided to "undo" the majority of what had happened, writing the past nine-ten months off as a poisoning of the town's primary water source, and that was what had caused everyone to behave so oddly. A few things were kept: primarily Callum Hughes' estrangement from his family and Laina Sprecher's death. After a bit of outcry from the fans at the shrinking of the beloved Sprecher family, Jung Kwan was brought in as a sort-of replacement for Laina. It took almost two years for fans of the show to truly accept Jung.
• The Mouse and the Horse In 1999, nine-year-old Marie "Mouse" Sprecher was riding an Aethonon before her uncle Brennan's big race when the horse started balking wildly, and ended up throwing the young girl from its back. Mouse was horribly crippled by the accident, and never attended Hogwarts. It was discovered fairly quickly that Brennan's main rival had placed a burr in the Aethonon's saddle blanket, with the intention of trying to kill Brennan during the race.
• The Death of Lila Hughes In 1999, the portrayer of Lila Hughes died of complications with dragon pox; rather than recasting a beloved character, the writers had her die "off-camera" and instead spent an entire week's worth of shows on a memorial to her; it's rumoured that there wasn't a dry eye in the entirety of Britain when Callum, who had been estranged from his family for a couple years at this point, used a timeturner to travel several days back in time to say goodbye to his grandmother.
• The Attack on the Whitakers In 2001, some of Michael III's illicit business dealings were spiralling south. Several rival businesses were looking poised to try to take Michael III out. During a New Year's Eve party at the Whitaker estate, a deadly attack was carried out, killing a couple non-Four-Family guests and severely injuring many (including several Four-Family guests). Sophie Roberts, Michael III's assistant, was critically injured and nearly died; she was pregnant with Michael III's child at the time and lost the baby as a result of the attack. The mystery over which business orchestrated the failed attack lasted months (and included several other smaller-scale failed attacks) before the truth was revealed.
• Custody of Jocelyn Hearst When Jasper Hearst and Holly Knight were divorcing for the second time in 2005, a heated battle began over who would have primary custody over Jocelyn, as it certainly seemed like things were actually OVER this time (they weren't). Jasper and Holly each dealt the other a few low blows, not the least of which included Jasper using a timeturner to sleep with Holly in an attempt to keep her out of the courtroom … only to discover that she had used a timeturner for that very same purpose! Ultimately, Holly was granted primary custody of Jocelyn, and Jasper and Holly ended up getting back together briefly in 2009-10.
• The Love Polygon In 2008, Ryan Sprecher and Kate Knight were beginning to eye each other, and Callum Hughes and Sophie Roberts were in the middle of one of their are-they-or-aren't-they non-relationship moments. An assignment from work had Kate trying to buddy up to Callum, to see if they could pin something on Michael III. Ryan saw Kate and Callum having lunch together and, in a fit of jealousy, asked Sophie out (in front of Callum) to make Callum jealous … but this only served to make Kate jealous and caused her to throw herself at Callum, which resulted in a fight between Sophie and Kate, and Callum hexed Ryan right before a big race. Eventually (with several instances of one of the four using a timeturner to prevent their rival from going on a date with one of the others) both couples were righted: Callum and Sophie were back together (and eventually married), as were Ryan and Kate (and they eventually married, too!).
• The Hughes and Sprecher Families Are United in Marriage In 2015, Bradley Hughes and Glynnis Sprecher, both rather confirmed bachelor(ette) types, went from arguing with each other in one day's episode to eloping in the next! They threw the entirety of both families into an uproar, particularly their fathers (Edward Hughes and Whitey Sprecher, who had been feuding for years), but they just ignored everyone. Somehow, their relationship managed to work, and in 2016 they adopted a young (wizard) boy.