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You're welcome, S_Pugh. If you have 1ac, check out the plot on wiki. Knowing what eventually happens to the characters is important. Without spelling it out, the sorted + letters instruction refers to a further sort. Put the letters into universal anagram solver : there are only 87 two-word possibilities, the one you're looking for is 5,5

Indeed Gitto I wondered the same but it is covered by the 'except' in the preamble I think. As a warning to anyone else struggling, yesterday I had sussed two thematic names for the bottom of the grid only to discard them after getting some random responses from Google when I keyed them in. If I'd perhaps delved deeper I would have realised that I was onto something. Google is amazing but not always infallible!

Fantastic construction, another cracking puzzle well worth the effort. Thanks to Meursault and djawhufc for their guidance.

I agree with Meursault that this has been a great start to the year so far - with this being the best for a long time. The construction is incredible and to virtually cover the whole theme is breath-taking in its brilliance. Many more like this please!

S_pugh, I came to the conclusion that the final blank is where it is, or the signal is incomplete!

I thought this was the most challenging puzzle for a while, taking several hours, with the last part of the endgame becoming clear to me only at around 2:30am.

Did anyone notice the discussion of what’s almost certainly this forum on page 30 of the main section of The Times yesterday? The games and puzzles editor of The Times appears to be rather resigned to the existence of the forum, and notes that people have different notions of what constitutes “cheating” in crossword-solving.

Do you have a link to the discussion please wintonian?

Hi Wintonian, I see just 5 comments on the "chatroom popular with Listener crossword aficionados", one of them being a regular from this forum. Popular ?

The attitude expressed, "Sadly, there's not much we can do to prevent it..." speaks volumes about a certain kind of person who feels entitled to lay down the law. What isn't discussed is that the success of this forum is in large part due to the absolute refusal of the "popular" chatroom to help.

If they feel that, by getting help, solvers are in some way unfairly submitting entries, the chatroom brigade should really try to keep things in perspective. It's only a crossword puzzle. By attaching such unproportioned esteem and undue importance to consistently solving the Listener, they have contributed to their own downfall.

Hi Meursault

I just had a look in yesterday’s Times to see what all the fuss was about. In an age where we have the Syrian conflict, Trump, North Korea etc. etc. I am surprised us helping a few people was worthy of comment.

Hi sudokulover,

Sorry, I still read The Times in paper format, rather than online, so no link, I’m afraid. But Meursault has covered the main contents in his last post.

An absolutely astonishing puzzle. I'd rate it pretty highly in the last 25 years of Listeners. Well worth persevering if you are struggling. Buzzb's comment (23) helped me enormously. Time to call a halt to an already flagging setting career for me though. I can't compete with this at any level.

Can some kind person give me some hints for:
23A thinner boxes are sent back.
24A Fallibility when information is organised in emergency without them.
30A There's a broken dial on the outside of direction-finder.
42A Mainly eat Arabian bread in Algeria.

Thanks very much,