Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

THE CLUES
Requests for help should normally include the clue itself, the number of letters in the answer and details of any you already have. Any special instructions or additonal information should also be included.
NB - Hints only should be given, not answers.

THE THEME
Requests may be made here for GENTLE NUDGES towards the theme. That's hard to define, of course, but it's worth trying! Aim to give enough to help without being too revealing. The theme itself should not be disclosed.

Early finishers should avoid any allusion - jocular or otherwise - to the theme.

If you feel an answer or a post is too revealing, please say so on the thread before contacting Admin.

The Listener is a unique puzzle and should be treated with resepct.

A very gentle one for those who feel the last few weeks have been enough of a struggle

I got all but 4 done without having a scooby about the theme. A quick search of a couple of words on Google and up popped the theme and all the thematic components and these also corrected two guessed entries I had made. Definitely not an interest of mine but everything seems to fit together nicely. Bit surprised there wasn't more to do at the end.
Thanks to Llig

After some of the marathons of recent weeks, a nice change to have a gentle 'entry level' jog of a puzzle! No ambiguity, no GWIT, no convoluted end game. 18 down made me laugh!
Off to secure an Inquisitor to keep me busy through another hot Saturday.
And talking of infernos, the notes on Unruly Characters on the Listener website confirm that a number of different options for the final stage of puzzle 4717 were acceptable. Phew.

This definitely would not be my specialist subject on Mastermind and I seem to have 7 thematic components rather than 6. Two more are obviously linked but I can live with not knowing which. A nice puzzle, thanks Llig.

Ah, got it now.

I seem to have finished this without totally understanding what is going on. I have a full grid (including the six thematic components), the perpetrator from the across clues and the two other answers which indicate the theme. However, the extra letters I have from the down clues make no sense whatsoever. This appears not to matter, but it would be nice to know what they are supposed to spell out. I have one letter from each column, which seems to be right, but Googling them produces nothing.

As is often the case, I realised the significance of the extra letters from the down clues immediately after my last post!

Well, from the preamble, it’s a person’s name. Google the first name, and/or the theme, and/or any of the elements, and it’s bound to fall out…

All finished thanks to serendipity rather than any previous knowledge of the theme. My thanks to Llig and Wikipedia.