In July 2011, he presented his first documentary for BBC Radio 4, Tim Key's Suspended Sentence, about famous first lines in literary history, including A Tale of Two Cities, Moby Dick, and Tristram Shandy, under the pretence of writing his own first novel. The programme also featured examples from the Bulwer–Lytton Fiction Contest. His second documentary for Radio 4, Tim Key and Gogol's Overcoat, aired in November 2012.