The conductor, Charles Hazlewood, believes in making music inclusive, from projects fusing five Grime MC's with the BBC Concert Orchestra to founding the world's first paraorchestra, inspired by his daughter Eliza. He presents a two-part series on BBC Four - Tones, Drones and Arpeggios: The Magic of Minimalism. Lulah Ellender has written Elisabeth's Lists. Part memoir, part family history, part exploration of a life through lists, inspired by Elisabeth, the grandmother she never knew. Cassidy Li...
Mar 06, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Debbie McGee tells us about her time on Strictly, how she needs to keep busy and life two years after the death of her husband, Paul Daniels. Joe Cushnan's father walked out on his family, never to return or make any contact. Joe is now trying to find out about the life his father subsequently embarked on. Rosamund Thorpe is sure she has Scottish blood and knows where it came from. Peter Lovatt aka Dr Dance tells us how dance helped him learn to read and go on to have a career as a dance academi...
Feb 24, 2018•1 hr 25 min
The actor and producer Greg Wise is brother of Clare Wise, who died of cancer in 2016. Greg has co-written a book about how he and Clare dealt with her illness - the appointments, the hair loss, the chemo, the showers... and the cat, Grably. Jess French is a zoologist, naturalist and entomologist and presents CBeebies Minibeast Adventure with Jess. Her passion for scorpions and tarantulas began while helping her dad with his exotic invertebrate-breeding business and often acted as animal handler...
Feb 17, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Dame Evelyn Glennie tells presenters Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about her mission to find new ways to help people really listen. She blazed a trail as the world's first professional solo percussionist, having become profoundly deaf at the age of 12. When she's not touring internationally, there's little she likes better than getting out her trusty metal detector and going searching for buried treasure. Max Beesley was no stranger to showbiz glamour even before he became a TV star, having p...
Feb 13, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the actress Jenny Agutter who plays Sister Julienne in Call the Midwife. She recalls her time living in Hollywood and reveals her passion for rap. Before being called to the bar, Tony Kent was a heavyweight amateur boxer. As a criminal defence lawyer he's defended high profile clients including Anthony Joshua. He has now written his first novel - Killer Intent. JP Devlin meets Madeleine Neave to discover why she set up the Antique Breadboard Mu...
Feb 03, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Jo Wood's first foray into the public eye was as a popular newspaper's "Face of 1972" aged 17. After 5 years working as a model she met Ronnie Wood and spent the next 30 years living the whirlwind rock and roll lifestyle of the Rolling Stones until her marriage came to an abrupt end. She has since reinvented herself, promoting an organic lifestyle and her passion for interiors and fashion. She joins Aasmah and Richard in the studio. We also have Mollie Hughes, a climber who became the youngest w...
Jan 27, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Broadcaster and author Dan Snow is the history guy - from first appearing on our screens with the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, with dad Peter to numerous other documentaries including the Rise of the Royal Navy, Battlefield Britain series and a documentary about his great great grandfather, former Prime Minister, Lloyd George. Alan Fell is Head of Props at the Royal Shakespeare Company - from severed heads to an armoured tank - creating weird stuff is part of the fun of his job....
Jan 20, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein are joined by the commentator and former England Rugby hooker, Brian Moore, who talks about his career, recent health scare and passion for opera and wine. 18 year old Liv Cooke is the current Football Freestyle World Champion. She describes how sitting at home with an injury led her to the sport. The actress, Julie Hesmondhalgh, recalls her childhood in Accrington, playing the first transgender role in a soap, and her love of campervans. JP meets Saturday Live listener...
Jan 13, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Actor Phil Daniels joins Aasmah and Richard in the studio. Since his first big role aged 19 as the lead in cult The Who film Quadrophenia, he hasn't stopped working in film, theatre or TV including Eastenders; Chicken Run; Les Miserables; Shakespeare; and the voice in Blur's Park Life. Now actor Phil Daniels is putting his versatility to good use in a new production of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stefanie Reid is a five-time world record holder, reigning world champion in long jump, and triple Paraly...
Jan 06, 2018•1 hr 25 min
The poet Lemn Sissay, lexicographer Susie Dent and conservationist Ian Redmond join the Reverend Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. Lemn Sissay is a poet and broadcaster who has written extensively about his childhood in care. His new collection of poetry Gold from the Stone is published by Canongate Books. Susie Dent is a lexicographer who is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Her book Dent's Modern Tribes - The Secret Languages of Britain...
Dec 30, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the lyricist and musician Chris Difford who, along with Glenn Tilbrook, co-founded Squeeze - with hits such as 'Cool For Cats' and 'Up The Junction'. He talks about his life from early years in south London to playing Madison Square Garden, battling addiction and receiving two Ivor Novello Awards. Dr. Rachel Clarke describes the atmosphere on the hospital ward during the festive season, and the humanity shown by patients and staff alike. Anna B...
Dec 23, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Hit singer songwriter James Blunt joins Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny to talk hits, the army and acerbic tweets. Actor Abubakar Salim is the new lead in Assassin's Creed, a video game. We ask him why he wanted to act in a game, how it compares to other roles and how his martial arts study helped the role. We have explosive ordinance disposal expert turned reality TV Love Islander Camilla Thurlow. Listener Clare Rixon has run a marathon every month in 2017, set up a virtual running challenge and r...
Dec 16, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein meet astronaut Tim Peake; writer and actor Sanjeev Kohli and cake maker Cynthia Stroud. Tim Peake is a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut. He finished his 186-day Principia mission on the International Space Station for Expedition 46/47 when he landed back on earth on June 18th 2016. His new book Ask an Astronaut is published by Century. Sanjeev Kohli is a writer, actor and comedian who stars in the BBC Radio Four series Fags, Mags and Bags and the Scottish sitcom St...
Dec 09, 2017•1 hr 25 min
The actress and Radio 2 DJ, Liza Tarbuck, joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss annuals, puzzles and why she's distracted by everything. Michael Smith became the first person to fly solo around the world in an amphibious plane, retracing the 1938 Qantas, Imperial Flying Boat Routes between Sydney, Southampton and New York. He explains why he visited 70 cinemas along the way. JP Devlin meets Saturday Live listener Jill Conibere, who got in touch to tell us about her invention: It...
Dec 02, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Bruce Dickinson is best known as lead singer one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, Iron Maiden. But he's also a airline captain, international fencer, radio presenter, and writer, who has now written his autobiography. The man once billed a "Human air raid siren" joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir in the studio. Alby Shale's father, Christopher Shale, died of a heart attack aged 56 in 2011 when Alby was 20. Not long before he died, he'd taken Alby to Rwanda to show him the vol...
Nov 25, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher thrillers, talks to Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny about his latest book The Midnight Line. Actress Alison Steadman discusses Hold the Sunset, her upcoming sitcom with John Cleese, and her children's book - Spider! Space engineer Abbie Hutty reveals what it takes to design the new Mars Rover due for the red planet in 2020. And TV archaeologist Alex Langlands explains why he thinks we need to do more things for ourselves, and stop relying on machines and gadget...
Nov 21, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Katie Melua joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. She talks about her childhood from Georgia to Belfast and London, her music, and she describes how the late Sir Terry Wogan championed her career and how she has released this year's official BBC Children in Need single in his honour. Saturday Live hosts Radio 4's BBC Children in Need auction, offering listeners the chance to bid for some amazing prize packages to raise money for BBC Children in Need. Auctioneer, Will Farmer is on hand to update th...
Nov 11, 2017•1 hr 26 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by broadcaster and actor Reggie Yates. From Desmonds to Top of the Pops, he's been on camera nearly all of his life, but it's as a documentary filmmaker that he's now familiar, investigating everything from religion in South Africa, race and homophobia in Russia to gun crime in Chicago. John Virgo has spent the last forty years playing snooker as a player and commentator. Famous for his impersonations of fellow players from Ray Reardon to Alex 'Hur...
Nov 04, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Goldie, producer, DJ and artist; actor Tim Bentinck and model and campaigner Mary Russell join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles.. Born in Walsall and brought up in a series of children's homes, Goldie made his name as a graffiti artist before becoming a sought after producer and DJ. As an actor he appeared in the James Bond film the World is Not Enough and learned how to conduct an orchestra in the BBC series Maestro. His new book, All Things Remembered, written with Ben Thompson, looks...
Oct 28, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by chef, restaurateur and TV presenter Rick Stein whose latest culinary journey has taken him to California and Mexico. Showjumper Nick Skelton went on to win Olympic Gold after breaking his neck in a fall. After 60 years, Lin Sunderland has fulfilled her ambition to become a lighthouse keeper. Mary-Ann Ochota has been travelling the waterways of Britain, discovering how boats have shaped our lives. Plus, Inheritance Tracks from musician Nitin Sawh...
Oct 21, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by the Queen of Baking, Mary Berry who has been teaching the nation to cook for over four decades. She's now turning her attention to home maintenance and tells us how to air our beds and clean our loos in a new book. Harry Judd is best known as the drummer for pop band McFly and a winner of Strictly Come Dancing. Now a fitness fanatic, he explains how exercise has helped him get over his anxiety, OCD and panic attacks Father and daughter performer...
Oct 14, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny are joined by the broadcaster Gloria Hunniford - who started out as a singer at the age of seven and went on to become the first woman to have a daily radio programme on BBC Radio 2. She describes how she has interviewed everyone from Salman Rushdie to Doris Day and even managed to stay on air during a bombing. Arctic explorer Erling Kagge discusses the enemy of all radio broadcasters - SILENCE. Head Concierge, Nigel Bowen, explains how he keeps guests happy at one o...
Oct 07, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Monty Don joins presenters Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny to discuss his television gardening career, his new book Down To Earth, and how getting your hands dirty is good for your mental well-being. Tree climber and award-winning documentary cameraman James Aldred shares his love of trees and the adventures he's had with gorillas, leopards, snakes and poisonous frogs in rainforests around the world. Soil scientist Jackie Stroud loves worms. She reveals why. And listener Suzanne Gray explains why, ...
Sep 30, 2017•1 hr 27 min
Presented by Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny. The singer Marc Almond talks about his new album of 1960s orchestral pop and his diverse career using world music influences, including Russian folksongs. Saturday Live listener Lisa Cooper tells the fascinating story of her grandmother Pearl, who was born in 1900 in a village near Kiev, in Russia and experienced pogroms, the Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War. The 'Poetry Postie', Sally Crabtree, started out as a promising gymnast. However, a TS Eliot ...
Sep 23, 2017•1 hr 25 min
As he prepares to join the forthcoming Living Legends tour, David Essex tells us about his route from blue-eyed East End boy to star of stage, screen and soap via a barrage of screaming fans. The Living Legends tour begins in October. Comedian Katherine Ryan joins the Saturday Live panel show ahead of her stand-up tour. She'll tell us how she's found her move from Canada to the UK has been good for her career and... her skin. Katherine's tour runs from September to March. For Barney Shaw it's al...
Sep 16, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Jeremy Vine recalls his dad-built tree house and hoisting Karen Clifton aloft on Strictly. Sally Goble tells us what it's like to swim the channel. Malachy Tallack spends his time cresting the ocean wave in search of legendary and lost islands of the world And look heavenwards with Penny Thornton, chef-astrologer, for tips on going Virgotarian... Your Thank You and the Inheritance Tracks form Anthea Turner.
Sep 09, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by Stephen McGann, who plays Dr. Turner in BBC TV series Call the Midwife. He reveals why he has combined his passion for genealogy, with his academic interest in the social dimensions of medicine, to write a personal history of his family. Sarah Walker's father wrote the Countryman's Diary column in a couple of local newspapers until his death earlier this year. Sarah describes how she is now carrying on the tradition by writing her own column, T...
Sep 02, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Sixty years in showbiz for Marty Wilde this year. The south London boy was signed by the famously unsentimental pop Svengali Larry Parnes, and rose to fame with the generation that included Sir Cliff and Billy Fury. He co-wrote Kids in America for his daughter, 80s pop star Kim Wilde, and has just produced his granddaughter's cover of the Lulu hit 'I'm a Tiger'. If that were not enough, this autumn he's off tour, the Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll Tour Lara Jewitt's office is pretty unusual - the Tropic...
Aug 26, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Actor Simon Williams; singer Heather Small; writer John Higgs and angler Marina Gibson join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles. The actor Simon Williams got his big break playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. He is currently starring as Justin Elliott in the BBC Radio 4 series the Archers and a mysterious property developer - known as "the chairman" - in East Enders on BBC One. He is performing in Posting Letters to the Moon with his wife, the actress Lucy Flemin...
Aug 19, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the chef and musician Levi Roots, whose business success began following an appearance on BBC Two's Dragon's Den. He's performed with James Brown, been nominated for a Best Reggae Act MOBO award and has returned to his musical roots with Reggae Reggae Hits. Alastair Sawday describes the joys of travelling, and travelling slow. Dominic Sewell is a champion jouster. He is at Dover Castle taking part in the first modern day joust, alongside Tobias...
Aug 12, 2017•1 hr 25 min
